the Federal High Court, Abuja, has fixed Feb. 24, 2021, for hearing in a N100 million suit filed by a whistleblower, George Davidson, against the ICPC.

Justice Nkeonye Maha , who adjourned the matter in her ruling, hinged the decision on the fact that parties in the suit had yet to be joined.

Also joined in the N100 million suit is a civil servant, Regina Davidson.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Davidson, through his lawyer, A. O. Osawaru, filed a motion on notice dated Oct. 19 for the enforcement of his fundamental rights against his alleged illegal detention by officers of the ICPC.

He was said to have been detained in the commission cell on Oct. 13 without justification until Oct. 24 when he was moved to a police cell at the Federal Secretariat.

He alleged that he was kept in the cell until Oct. 31 when he was released over an information supplied to the anti-corruption agency, through a non-governmental organisation, about Dominic, a grade level 9 federal civil servant.

While the ICPC is the 1st respondent; Akeem Lawal, an ICPC Director of Operations; Offili Innocent, ICPC Investigator; Maman Kuru, ICPC Investigator; Kontagora Khadijat, ICPC operative; Mrs Regina Dominic and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) are 2nd to 7th respondents respectively.

Osawaru, in the application, argued that no court had found the applicant guilty of any offence to warrant such detention.

He sought the court’s declaration that the detention of his client by the ICPC and its agents (2nd to 5th respondents), at the behest of Mrs Dominic (6th respondent), was unlawful and unwarranted.

“An order directing the 7th respondent (AGF) to take over and assign the applicant’s petition against the 6th respondent to another anti-corruption agency for a discreet investigation.

“The sum of hundred million naira against the 1st to 6th respondents as damages/compensation for the illegal, unwarranted, unlawful and unconstitutional arrest and detention of the applicant.

The lawyer also urged the court to direct the 1st to 5th respondents to refrain from further actions that could amount to the breach of Davidson’s fundamental rights, among others.

Counsel to the applicant informed the court that the motion on notice was for the enforcement of fundamental rights of his client.

When Justice Maha asked whether an issue had been joined, Osawaru responded that “after the close of work on Friday, we got informed that the 1st defendant filed a counter affidavit and preliminary objection which we have not seen till this moment.”

“But if no issues have been joined, you have to take a date,” the judge said.

“Hope he (Davidson) is not on detention,” Maha asked.

“Upon hearing that the matter is before your honourable court, they released him,” Osawaru responded.

Justice Maha then adjourned the matter until Feb. 24 for consolidated hearing of the substantive motion.(NAN)

One of the de registered political parties, the Hope Democratic Party (HDP), has filed a suit in the Federal High Court seeking to restrain the Senate from screening Prof. Mahmood Yakubu as a second term chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The suit filed November 12 is before Justice Iyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court 5 in Abuja.

According to a statement signed by Auwal Abdullahi, for the National Chairman of the deregistered Hope Democratic Party, the party wants Senate restrained because the reappointment of Prof. Yakubu did not follow due process and dictates of the 1999 constitution

According to the deregistered party, the reappointment of Prof. Yakubu did not follow the letters of section 154 (3) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (amended).

The section of the constitution says, “In exercising his powers to appoint a person as Chairman or member of the Independent National Electoral Commission, National Judicial Council, the Federal Judicial Service Commission or the National Population Commission, the President shall consult the Council of State”.

But the party said that there was no record of the meeting of the Council of State where the reappointment of Prof Yakubu was discussed and approval given.

HDP files action against Senate President to restrain any confirmation of former INEC Chairman (Prof. Mahmood Yakubu) until full probe and account of previous term in Office.

The originating summons filed along with motions seeks among others the following reliefs: “A declaration that any Senate confirmation exercise involving the 3rd Defendant (Prof. Mahmmod Yakubu) not including Constitutional requirement for proper scrutiny and audit of records and reports of previous reported low performances to ascertain if he is a person of unquestionable integrity for the purpose of engendering and promoting good government and fight against corruption is ultra vires its constitutional duties, and abuse of its powers and void.

“An order restraining the 1st & 2nd Defendants from considering or confirming the 3rd Defendant (Prof. Mahmmod Yakubu) without public scrutiny, audit/probe of reported poor
performances and lack of accountability of budgeted and donated funds (of 2019 General Election)

“And without first passing into law the long outstanding electoral reform bills frustrated under the 3rd Defendant last term in office to prevent exposing the nation to further negative electoral misfortune, mistrust and perceptions of a chaotic and unstable polity”, the originating summons stated. .

No date has been fixed for the hearing presently.

President Muhammadu Buhari had on October 27 2020 reappointed Professor Mahmood Yakubu as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for another five-year term.
This disclosure was made by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, in a statement titled, ‘President Buhari nominates Prof Yakubu as INEC chairman for a second term in office’.

The statement had read, “President Muhammadu Buhari has presented the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, for a second term in office.’

Prof Yakubu has since November 9 stepped aside pending his confirmation by the Senate. He handed over the affairs of the commission to AVM Ahmed Muazu as acting chairman.
The new acting chairman will serve in an acting capacity pending the confirmation of Yakubu’s re-nomination or otherwise by the Senate.

A special ad-hoc Committee headed by Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Idris Wase, yesterday, met with heads of security agencies over the hijack of the recent #EndSARS protests.

The action embarked on by youths to protest police brutality was taken over by hoodlums who went ok looting and killings.

Speaking shortly before the meeting went into a closed door session, Wase recalled that the House had set up the ad-hoc committee on October 20 to interface with the security chiefs over the hijack of the #EndSARS protests by hoodlums resulting in “security breach.”

According to him, the essence of the committee is to ensure there is peace and harmony in the country.

“This is our first meeting and we are going to take input from the various services. This is a matter that concerns security and no nation discusses its security situation on camera,” the deputy speaker stated.

Chairman, House Committee on Water Resources, Sada Soli, had in a motion “on the urgent need to address the possible breach of national security in the national #endsars protest” expressed concerns that the #EndSARS protest was hijacked by hoodlums.

He prayed the House to constitute a committee to investigate the incidence.

The meeting was attended by the Comptroller General of Nigeria Correctional Service, Ja’afaru Ahmed; Comptroller General, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp, Abdullahi Garba Mohammed, Yusuf Bichi, DG, Directorate of State Service (DSS) and Mohammed Babandede, Comptroller General, Nigeria Immigration Service, while the Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, Chief of Air Staff and the Inspector General of Police were represented.

*Border closure not cause of dispute, says NiDCOM

The Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa yesterday denied that Nigeria’s decision to close its borders prompted Ghanaian authorities to clamp down on Nigerian traders working in the West African nation.

Hundreds of shops belonging to Nigerians have been closed in Ghana, prompting calls from some of the traders to be repatriated back home.

The Nigerian Government has intervened in the matter previously. In September, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, visited Ghana and met with the Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo-Addo.

Dabiri-Erewa, while being interviewed on a live television programme, said Ghana’s treatment of Nigerian traders was based on a complex of not being able to compete.

She also said the issue has been going on for years, long before Nigeria decided to close its borders.

The closure, Ms. Dabiri-Erewa added, has impacted negatively on the finances and psychological state of many of the Nigerian traders, leading to suicide in at least one case.

“They are not the same thing actually. There’s a reason why borders were closed. You can’t be bringing in small arms and ammunition and all that and Nigeria will not take action.

“We are talking of people that have been living in your country, working very well for years. Now, I’ll ask you something; if it has to do with the borders, why didn’t they send away the big industries in Ghana; we have six banks in Ghana. Why didn’t they tell them to leave, if they are afraid of border closure? There is the gas pipeline going to Ghana, why don’t you cut it off?

“And I think it boils down to this lack of trust and some kind of complex. Because, these Nigerian traders sell their goods at cheaper prices; you know, Nigerians are very industrious. So the reality is that the Ghanian traders say it is really difficult to compete with the Nigerian traders. And they’ve put it in one million dollars to almost impossible for traders to . . . so let’s leave the issue of border closure.

“This thing has been on for years. In New York, three years ago, Mr President, took up with the Ghanaian President, and he gave an assurance that they are sorry about it and will open the shops. Then they open and close again, to their whims and caprices. I’m sure you will agree with me that we can’t continue like this.”

At least three federal ministries will be responding to the issue this week, Ms. Dabiri-Erewa said.

The ministries include Foreign Affairs, Interior, and Trade and Investment.

“The delegation is in Nigeria to tell the government that they want to return,” she said. “And 753 actually signed the document that says they want to return to Nigeria.

“So with this request from them, what is going on now is that the three ministers involved will have been some engagement with them to see what actually should be the next thing.

“Now you’ve said you want to come to your country, so there should be no problem about that. They are Nigerians and we are proud of them and glad to return them home.

“But they must return to something meaningful. Like one of them said to me when they came to NIDCOM office, a lot of them have been there for over 25 years; so just uprooting yourself for not committing any crime – the only crime they’ve committed is that they are very good at their trade, at their jobs.”

The NIDCOM chief added that President Muhammadu Buhari is on top of the situation but was skeptical about the shops being opened before the Ghanaian elections are held in December.

“Let’s face it, the President of Ghana will not want to go against his own citizens,” she said. “And majority of the Ghanaian traders have said ‘we don’t want them’. So after the elections, maybe they will now open. But they will close again. So they can’t be pawns in a game of chess in Ghana.”

After 10 days in detention, in which time he cooled his heels with security operatives in Abuja, #EndSARS campaigner, Eromosele Adene has been granted bail in Lagos.

Eromz, as he is popularly known, was granted bail on Tuesday with the bail set at N1 million.

He was arrested after operatives tricked his sister, playing the card of religion pretending to be members of her church wanting to deliver a package.

A Magistrate court in Yaba, rejected a request by the police for an order to detain him for another 30 days, to conclude investigations into the allegations against the defendant.

Counsel to the defendant, Mr Adeshina Ogunlana, argued that the facts were not strong enough to support further remand of the defender.

The magistrate said it was important that Eromosele’s fundamental right not be infringed upon in the interest of justice.

Some police vehicles filled with police men left the court premises after bail was granted to Eromosele.

Immediately the bail was granted, a mini-protest erupted from youths gathered around. Recall that Eromosele’s family members were earlier prevented entry into the court.

They just always get their communication wrong in times of anger by the populace, at a time many, out of hunger and anger, breached the security of warehouses and looted food and other items.

Minister of Finance, Hajia Zainab Ahmed, said last week that the cost of transportation was at the heart of spiralling inflation, just as government’s deregulation saw the price of a litre of petrol, a core item for transport vehicles, and that determines the open market price of foodstuff, jump to 168 to N170 per litre.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s inflation rate rose by 14.23% (year-on-year) in October 2020 as against 13.71% recorded the previous month.

The October figures indicates a persistent increase in 14 months and the highest recorded since March 2018. Also, on a month-on-month basis, the Headline index increased by 1.54% in October 2020, this is 0.06% rate higher than the rate recorded in September 2020 (1.48%).

Her colleague in the same ministry, but in charge of Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba said on Monday that about 50 percent of Nigeria’s children were dying silently as a result of malnutrition.

Now President President Muhammadu Buhari’s deputy in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, thinks that Nigerians will get used to the deregulation of the pump price of  petrol.

Answering questions from State House Correspondents on Monday, “Look at it, a situation where diesel has been deregulated long ago, a situation where kerosene has been deregulated long ago, and these are the fuels the poorest people in Nigeria interact with more. Why do I say that?

“If you want to transport food from the north to the south, it will be by trucks that are run by diesel, not with petrol. Those trucks that transport food from the north to the south are usually run by diesel.

“Kerosene is the preferred fuel at the lowest level of our society. These have been deregulated long ago. So, what is the problem with deregulating petrol, which is mostly used by the elite?

“Let us be fair to this country, let us be fair to the poor people in this country.
“If we have deregulated what they were using, then there is actually no reason why we should continue to subsidize petrol. I feel so.”

“Let us first agree, that these are not the best of times not only for Nigeria but for the global community.

“What we have said over and over again as a government is that government is no longer in the business of fixing pump price, that is the meaning of deregulation and stepping back on subsidy. Yes we are very aware that this will result to some increase but why do we have to do this, because it is clearly impossible for government to continue to subsidize.

“The money is not there now. Just take the example of our production levels, our crude oil production level was over 2 million barrels a day, today to comply with OPEC cut and quota, we have reduced production to 1.4 million barrels. Having reduced production to 1.4 million barrels, crude oil is also not selling at an optimal rate. Where do you get the money to continue to subsidize?

“I was just discussing with someone today that we just have to make a choice, if government were to continue with subsidy, it means for example that at some point we may not even have money after subsidizing petrol to pay salaries. You have no choice it is very clear that today things are not as they were before.

“The earnings of government has reduced by 60 percent and what is happening in the oil sector reflect what is happening elsewhere. Our FIRS collection has also reduced because less oil is being produced, there is less activity in the oil industry which is driving the economy. So you find out it is a double jeopardy from all sides. I am telling you if Mr President could have continued with subsidy he would have.

“But when you look at the facts before us, it is not possible and of course we are seeing some of the effects but I belive that at this point we are still trying to cross the first buck, we will get there, we will get used to it as Nigerians.

“…The only explanation to everything we have said is the country just could not afford subsidy anymore. It is unfortunate we are experiencing some of these things now. We will get by, I am sure when things stabilize our earnings begin to improve, we will begin to see the benefits of what this government has done.”

“I thought we’ve explained this over and over again and let us please listen to ourselves. Petrol is refined from crude oil, so petrol price is directly related to the price of crude oil in the market.

“So if I buy crude oil at a certain price and refine this month, if the crude price is low at the time, then my petrol price will become low because the feedstock from which I refined petrol was lower in price.

“If the price of crude oil goes up then it means the price of the feedstock has gone higher, it will also affect the price of the refined product and that is why you see that product prices are usually not static, it depends on the price of crude oil, which goes up and down. That is why we say deregulate so that as the price goes up or down, you will begin to go up and down as well at the pump.

“Before now we fixed it, which was not optimal for us as a country, so we said look, our earnings are not fixed because our earnings are dependent on crude oil price. If we fix it at this end then it becomes unsustainable at some point, so let us keep it floating so that if crude oil prices go up, then you’ll see a reflection of that, if crude oil prices go lower, you’ll see a reflection of that at the pump.

“Now what happened recently was because of the announcement of a vaccine for COVID-19 by Pfizer. With that crude oil prices went up a little bit. If you have been following crude oil prices you would have seen that crude oil prices went up a little bit, as a result of this announcement.

“So when crude oil prices go up a little bit, then you will see that it instantly reflects on the price of petrol, which is a derivative of crude oil. That’s why you see that there’s this movement and if we listen to ourselves, this is the same explanation we’ve been giving.

“Like when the pump prices came down, we reduced the pump price because it reflected, we saw that crude prices were lower, so we reduced the pump price when we deregulated.

“Then when the crude prices went up, it went up, when it comes down, it goes down. That is how it works.

“So that is why you will be seeing this, go up and down in the market place. Now we have introduced the alternative fuel, which is gas because we feel that it is important for Nigerians to have another option, which will be cheaper.”

On his part at the flagging off the 2020 Nutrition Campaign Week themed: “Nutrition the Bedrock for Economic Development,” Agba said, “Nigeria’s food and nutrition situation and the attendant poor global image in terms of economic and development milestones are major concerns to the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning.

“This, among others, necessitated the desire to carry out a week-long ‘Nutrition Campaign Week’ conceived to serve as a platform for mobilizing nutrition stakeholders towards addressing the challenge of malnutrition, which has been termed ‘the silent killer’.”

According to the Minister, failure in addressing malnutrition has high costs in term of higher budget outlay as well as lost Gross Domestic Product (GDP),  which he said made investment in nutrition a must do.

Agba regretted that, despite concerted efforts by the government in recent years, particularly in the areas of child nutrition and breastfeeding, malnutrition had remained a challenge which must be addressed through the implementation of innovative policies and strategies that were appropriately funded, data-driven, sustainable and optimized in terms of transparency and accountability for the efforts to yield the desired results.

He maintained that “the nation must also continue to work collaboratively across all levels of governments, and hand-in-hand with the private sector and development partners to tackle the menace.”

Agba said that “the menace has been further accentuated by the new global normal occasioned by the outbreak of COVD-19 pandemic with its attendant economic impact leading to food insecurity.”

He continued: “Nigeria is reported to have the second highest burden of stunted children in the world, with an estimated 2.5 million children under the age of 5 years suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM).”

According to him, “This is quite worrisome and calls for urgent measures to reverse the trend.”

He noted that “Over the years, this week-long annual event has proved to be a veritable platform for intensifying awareness on the importance of food and nutrition on child survival and its impact on development, productivity, economic growth and national development.

“This can be attested to by some of the achievements recorded in the past editions of the programme.

“Research has shown that investments in nutrition prevent undernutrition, build human capital, boost shared prosperity and improve health outcomes.

“Under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria has shown a clear commitment to the eradication of malnutrition through the adoption and domestication of policies and costed strategic plans, which emphasizes increased reliance on domestic funding; and a well-coordinated multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholders’ approach backed by sustained high-level political commitment.

“This is evident in Nigeria’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (2017-2020), a medium-term strategic plan aimed at investing in our people, diversifying the economy and restoring growth, which places critical emphasis on strategic multi-sectoral interventions to address food security and malnutrition.

“Owing to the importance the current administration places on child survival, nutrition is one of the key thematic areas in the Medium-Term National Development Plans (MTNDP 2021-2025 & 2026-2030) and the Nigeria Agenda 2050 presently being developed by our Ministry.”

Agba stated further: “Our emphasis has been on protecting the economy and funding the country’s healthcare needs with the COVID-19 response spurring necessary transformation and innovation in the fiscal space and beyond.”

▪︎ Additional reports by Conclaveng.com

Video Highlights of the Second Session of Intellectual Property Conference 2020 with the Topic : EXPLORING ALTERNATIVE MODES OF ACQUIRING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

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