The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has lambasted the University of Lagos (UNILAG) Governing Council Chairman, Wale Babalakin.

ASUU told him that the hire and fire of a Vice-Chancellor was not his sole right.

The council had sacked UNILAG VC, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe and named Prof. Theophilus Omololu Soyombo (Faculty of Social Sciences) as replacement.

ASUU President, Biodun Ogunyemi, at a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday insisted that due process was not followed.

“We are shocked not because we regard Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe as a saint but for the fact that all available evidence indicates that he was not taken through the due process.

“For the avoidance of doubt, Babalakin should be reminded that the knowledge of procedures and process for appointment and removal of Vice-Chancellors is not the exclusive preserve of legal luminaries,” NAN quoted him as saying.

The “legal luminaries” was a veiled description of Babalakin, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

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David Oyedepo, the Presiding Bishop, Living Faith Church Worldwide has shouted blue murder over the Companies and Allied Matters Act, CAMA, that gives the supervising minister the power to remove the board of trustees of churches without recourse to the court.

In hos words: “In the document, they said the registrar-general can remove the trustees without recourse to the court. Don’t try it. This must be from somebody who woke up from the wrong side of the bed after dreaming. The person must have drafted that aspect in the bill as their custom is…I am 51 years old in this thing (Christianity), don’t try it. I have been with Jesus for some time and I am sent as a prophet to nations. That a minister can remove the trustees and close the accounts of the church is.”

Is there any difference between the core provisions in this CAMA amendment and that of the Charity act of the UK? Critics asked. According to Otunba Yemisi Shyllon, a lawyer and engineer, “Was it not the British that brought our Christian faith to us?”

According to Mr Ife Babalola, writer and public commentator who has experienced the Western and Nigerian worlds, argued: “There is hardly any difference between the core provisions of our laws and those of western democracies. The difference is in the failure of our institutions in enforcing those regulations as practiced elsewhere. My personal opinion has always been that with the multitude of religious organisations and other NGOs in Nigeria, the establishment of a Charity Commission independent of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) is long overdue.”
Below, for example, according to him, is introducing The UK Charity Commission:

“We register and regulate charities in England and Wales, to ensure that the public can support charities with confidence. We are an independent, non-ministerial government department accountable to Parliament.

As registrar, we are responsible for maintaining an accurate and up-to-date register of charities. This includes deciding whether organisations are charitable and should be registered. We also remove charities that are not considered to be charitable, no longer exist or do not operate.”

However, Oyedepo, on Tuesday waved all arguments off, saying:“I told you, if I ever preach a message where there is no laughter, don’t listen to it. I’ve been laughing like this since 1976 till forever. Since I found Matthew 6:33, I’ve been laughing at the devil, smiling as I serve. You insult me, I enjoy it. You insult me and I stopped going to work because you insulted me, I will be a big fool.

“I am going to work and you say, “see his leg.” Yes, I thank God for my leg. “See his nose.’ He (God) made it and He did it beautifully. “See how short he is.” That’s the size He made me for so I can save more cloths.

“He that sitteth in Heaven shall laugh (Psalm 2:4). If you are not laughing, you are not one of them sitting in Heaven because in Heaven, he that sits there laughs and we are seated in Heavenly places, what should we do? Laugh
As you serve: laugh

“As they insult you: laugh; As they mock you: laugh; As they abuse you: laugh. Anybody insulting me is wasting his mouth: I didn’t hear (the insult). Even if I heard it, it won’t pain me. Anybody praising me is just expressing his opinion

“I didn’t hear it and if I heard, it won’t blow my head because if you praise anything in me, it is Jesus. The greater in me is the One you are praising and you think I’m the one. Thank God for the privilege of stewardship. Ask God for grace to maximize this awesome season in your life. God is changing people’s stories, He has you in mind.”

The federal government on Tuesday arraigned a British national, Mr James Nolan, before the Federal High Court, Abuja, over alleged complicity in the failed gas deal between Nigeria and an Irish firm, Process and Industrial Development (P&ID).

The failed deal entered in 2010 is threatening the seizure of Nigeria’s assets abroad to the tune of over $9 billion.

The British Arbitration Court, by a majority of two to one judgment in 2017 awarded the sum of $6.597 billion together with interest at the rate of 7 percent starting from March 20, 2013 until payment is made.

The 7 per cent interest reflects what P&ID would have paid to borrow the money or earned by investing the money in Nigeria.

Following Nigeria’s failure to pay the fine, the court on August 16, 2019, made an order enforcing the tribunal’s final award which now stands at about $9.6 billion.

In making this award, the court noted that the damages awarded were purely compensatory and not intended to punish the Nigerian government.

The court also confirmed that there were no public policy grounds on which the award should not be enforced. This decision converts the arbitration award to a legal judgment.

Nigeria however appealed the ruling and the appeal is currently being heard by a London court, where Nigeria is claiming that the deal was fraudulently entered into.

In Nigeria, the federal government last year commenced the prosecution of those suspected to have played one role or another in the P&ID alleged scam.

The federal government had arraigned Nolan, two directors of P&ID and a former director in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in different suits to bring to justice all those involved in the alleged scam.

Nolan, since his arraignment last year, has been in custody of the Nigeria Correctional Services due to his inability to perfect his bail.

However, the federal government on Tuesday arraigned him, two others said to be at large (Adams Quinn and Niel Murray) alongside six other firms.

Nolan, Quinn and Murray were charged as directors of the firms.

The six firms are Ecophoenix Nigeria Limited, Babcock Electrical Projects Limited, Marshpearl Nigeria Limited, L. I. R. Resources Nigeria Limited, Kristholm Nigeria Limited and Lurgi Consult Limited.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the six separate charges accused the defendants of failing to declare their activities as specified under the Money Laundering Act 2011 as well as failure to develop programmes to combat money laundering, amongst others.

While Nolan pleaded not guilty to all the charges in the six different suits, the trial judge, Justice Ahmed Mohammed, entered a not guilty plea for the six firms even when they were not represented by any lawyer.

Following his not-guilty plea, his lawyer, Mr Paul Erokoro (SAN), moved an oral application for his bail.

Erokoro informed the court that his client has already been admitted to bail by the same court in a sister case and urged the court to recognize the bail, particularly as varied by the Court of Appeal on July 7 this year.

The counsel to the EFCC, Mr Bala Sanga, however did not oppose the request for bail, stating that the major concern of the prosecution is the presence of the defendants in court throughout the trial.

In a short ruling, Justice Mohammed adopted the conditions as varied by the Court of Appeal in admitting Nolan to bail and adjourned till October 5, 2020 for trial.

Process and Industrial Development (P&ID), a company based in the British Virgin Islands, had on January 11, 2010, signed a gas supply and processing agreement with Nigeria.

The firm, according to the contract, was to build a gas facility in Cross River State where it would process wet gas supplied to it by Nigeria.

P&ID was expected to process the wet gas by removing natural gas liquids and return approximately 85 per cent of it to the government in the form of lean gas, to be returned at no cost to Nigeria.

Nigeria, on the other hand, was to construct pipelines and arrange facilities for transporting the wet gas to the facility to be built by P&ID.

However, trouble started when the Irish firm accused Nigeria of breach of contract and dragged the country to a London arbitration, where it claimed that it had invested $40 million in the project even though it had not acquired the land or built any facilities for gas processing.

It further claimed damages of another $6.6 billion being the amount of the net income it would have earned over the 20-year period of the agreement.

But in tackling P&ID, Nigeria stated that the firm never commenced building the gas processing facility in the first instance, adding that the entire agreement was a fraud.

A legal practitioner and social critique, Emperor Ogbonna, was on Tuesday admitted to bail by a Federal High Court, Abuja after six months detention by the Department of State Services (DSS).

Justice Taiwo Taiwo granted the applicant bail while ruling in a motion on notice argued by a foremost human rights activist, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) and A. A. Malik (SAN) on his behalf.

Ozekhome had in the motion drawn the attention of Justice Taiwo to the fact that his client had been held unlawfully by the DSS since March 24, 2020

The senior lawyer argued that the offence of the detained critique was his alleged criticism of certain policies of President Muhammadu Buhari and his conclusion that citizens may revolt due to alleged harsh living conditions unless the federal government provides remedy.

Ozekhome, while pleading that the detained lawyer be admitted to liberal bail conditions, said that the fundamental rights of the detainee had been brutally breached with the six months detention.

He urged the court to invoke constitutional provisions which presume the applicant innocent until proven otherwise, so as to allow him go on bail.

Responding, the lawyer to the federal government, Mr Isah Abubakar, opposed the bail on the grounds that the applicant will escape justice in view of the gravity of his alleged offence.

However, in a bench ruling, Justice Taiwo agreed with Ozekhome that the law presumed the applicant innocent until found guilty by a competent court and that the fundamental rights of the applicant to freedom of liberty had been breached with his detention for more than the period prescribed by law.

The judge therefore admitted him to bail in the sum of N2 million with two sureties in like sum.

Among others, the sureties must provide evidence of tax payment and one of them must have property in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with verifiable documents.

He however ordered that the applicant be remanded in prison custody pending the time he will perfect his bail.

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Internet celebrity Ismaila Mustapha, aka Mompha, Tuesday demanded N5million from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for ‘unlawful re-arrest and detention.’

Mompha, on trial at the Federal High Court in Lagos for allegedly laundering N33billion, was re-arrested last Friday by the EFCC.

The anti-graft agency explained that although Mompha was granted N100million bail last November, he was wanted in connection with fresh cyber fraud allegations.

But in a suit filed by his counsel Mr. Gboyega Oyewole (SAN) Mompha challenged his fresh arrest and detention.

He claimed that the Commission acted “without any plausible reason and/or explanation”, during his visit to the EFCC’s Ikoyi office, to retrieve several items seized from him last October 19.

The items – five wristwatches, one Apple Air pod, one iPhone eight mobile phones and one pair of sunglasses, were ordered to be released to him by Justice Mohammed Liman on the grounds that the EFCC did not list them as exhibits in court.

Mompha is praying the court to declare that his re-arrest and detention by the EFCC was unjustifiable and unlawful.

He is equally urging the court to declare that the continued seizure of the items violated his right to own property under Section 44 of the constitution.

He further prayed the court to order the EFCC not only to free him but also to give him back the seized items and pay him N5m damages.

A litigation officer in the office of his lawyer, Kayode Adeboye, contended that Mompha’s arrest was baseless because he had been granted bail by the court and never absconded.

According to Adeboye, in line with the bail conditions, Mompha had been reporting at the EFCC office fortnightly without defaulting.

The court has yet to fix a date to hear the suit.

Inspector Idowu Haruna, a member of the Intelligence Response Team of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) on Tuesday told an Ikeja Special Offences Court that he obtained the confessional statements of alleged kidnap kingpin Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike a.k.a. Evans under a conducive atmosphere.

Led in evidence by the prosecution, Adebayo Haroun, at resumed proceedings, Haruna maintained that Evans voluntarily gave his confessional at the State Command of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS.

He was giving evidence before Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo.

Insp. Haruna denied the claims of Evans that his statement was obtained under duress arguing that the statements was read to him after documentation and his superior officer who also counter signed the statements after Evans affirmed the contents.

Evans was arraigned before Justice Taiwo with three other defendants Joseph Emeka, Chiemeka Arinze, and Udeme Upong over alleged attempt to kidnap the Chairman of the Young Shall Grow Motors, Mr. Vincent Obianodo.

They are facing a seven-count charge bordering on murder, attempt to commit murder, attempt to kidnap, sale and transfer of firearms.

They all pleaded not guilty.

Justice Taiwo adjourned the matter till August 25 for further hearing.

In a related matter, Evans was charged before the Court alongside one Victor Aduba on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, kidnapping and unlawful possession of firearms.

They were accused of conspiring and kidnapping of Sylvanus Hafia.

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Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, has gone to the National Industrial Court ( NIC) to challenge his removal.

His lawyers (Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SAN), Mr Tayo Oyetibo and Ebun Adegboruwa were sighted at the NIC, Lagos this morning where they filed a court action on behalf of the former Vice-Chancellor against the Chairman of the Governing Council, Dr. Wale Babalakin; the Governing Council and the University of Lagos.

The two silks were seeing in the court premises in respect of a pending exparte application for an interim injunction to restrain the removal of Professor Ogundipe.

A legal expert said “the orders being sought amount to an abuse of court system because injunctions are only granted in respect of actions that are yet to be carried out. In this case, the Vice-Chancellor was removed on 12th August, 2020 and an acting Vice-Chancellor has been appointed.”

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The minority caucus in the House of Representatives has rejected the 30 slots allotted to each member of the House for their respective Local Government Areas in the Federal Government’s 774,000 public works scheme.

The lawmakers demanded more transparency and consultation in the implementation of the 774,000 public works scheme.

The caucus, in a statement by the minority leader, Ndudi Elumelu, on Tuesday, said the allocation of 30 of the 1,000 jobs per Local Government to lawmakers was unfair and unacceptable to Nigerians and the lawmakers.

Elumelu, a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) member representing Anaocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency of Delta State, charged President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately order a review of the implementation process to ensure that the targeted citizens benefited from the programme as intended.

According to him, the 774,000 jobs are meant for the people and that the people look up to the lawmakers as major channels through which they are reached for social and economic empowerment.

He noted that makes the 30 slots given to members of the House inadequate.

‘The 30 person allotment per local government for lawmakers is grossly unfair, inadequate and unacceptable to Nigerians. As the representatives of the people, we are closer to them and they directly interact with us, irrespective of religion, class and political affiliations.

‘All Nigerians living in our constituencies are our constituents, irrespective of political leanings. We have a responsibility to protect their interests at all times. As such lawmakers ought to have been carried along on the allotment.

‘Moreover, the questions are: what criteria are being used in the job allotments? Given the 30 persons out of the 1,000 per Local Government Area allotted to federal lawmakers, what happens to the remaining 970? What answers do we give Nigerians? How do we ensure that the program benefited Nigerians and not enmeshed in allegations of sharp practices as witnessed in the COVID-19 palliative distribution?’

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