An unannounced visit by the Minister of Education, Maruf Tunji Alausa, to King’s College, Lagos on Thursday unravelled a huge surprise.

Arriving at the main campus at exactly 7:30 a.m., the minister inspected classrooms and other facilities, noting the untidy environment and power outage in the school.

The Vice Principal, Shittu Y. S., informed Alausa that the school had been without electricity for the past eight months saying, “The light has been away for the past eight months. The generator worked until it collapsed before the end of the term in December.”

He added that in response to the issue, the school made temporary arrangements, including purchasing generators for classrooms and the dining hall, as well as installing an inverter in the hostel.

Shittu, however, noted that the annexe campus for Junior Secondary School students in Victoria Island had a regular power supply.

Watch video here

Credit: PUNCH

Students of the University of Ibadan (UI) at the undergraduate Alexander Brown Hall and postgraduate Ayodele Falase Hall have taken to the main roads of the University College Hospital (UCH) to protest their exemption from the electricity restored to the hospital following a blackout that lasted more than 100 days.

On Monday, Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu visited the hospital after doctors, students and patients had protested the power outage for more than three months. During a closed-door meeting between Adelabu, the UCH management and IBEDC officials, the students stayed outside the venue to protest.

After the meeting, Adelabu addressed the protesting students. He told them that there were plans to ensure that electricity was restored in the hospital within 48 hours.

Read Also: FG wades into UCH power debacle

“We have resolved with IBEDC to restore UCH and its environment to the National Grid within 24-48 hours. The time is to ensure they take necessary precautions,” Adelabu told the students.

“We have to do a proper circulation to identify who uses what power. UCH may seem like a single territory but there are multiple independent power consumers. College of Medicine, nothing less than six banks, pharmacies, Falase, ABH and residential areas. Those are the root causes and we must separate them.

“We have bought a new transformer so we can determine UCH’s own power consumption. Should we pay for business centres? By the time we separate it, everybody will pay for what they consume. This problem is not from FG, we are just intervening between the service provider, IBEDC, and the customer, UCH.”

On Wednesday afternoon, an ABH resident told FIJ that electricity had still not been restored in the hospital. The sources said that the students had agreed since Monday that they would wait till Thursday morning to resume the protest if the minister failed to deliver on his promises.

“We do not have light, and there has not been light. On that Monday, the students calculated the 48 hours to be Thursday morning. So, the protest is suspended till Thursday morning. We just looked at Tuesday, the rest of this Wednesday till night to see if they would bring light at all,” the source told FIJ on Wednesday.

“If there’s no light at all, then we’d assume that the minister has just come to do some crowd-speaking.”

On Wednesday evening, the sources confirmed to FIJ that the electricity had been restored in the hospital but ABH and Falase were exempted.

On Thursday, students were out on the streets to protest and the UCH management invited the Ibadan Police to quell the demonstration.

Read Also: Patients now bring generators to UCH Ibadan for treatment, FG says people are coming from UK, US to receive quality healthcare in Nigeria

“The students are out protesting. Police vans are also out in front of the school hostel, they said they were called by the Chief Medical Director of UCH. Before then, they had called student leaders and threatened them that if there were demonstrations, they would bring the police,” one student told FIJ on Thursday morning.

“The people going in are walking except for those who have emergencies that are allowed to go in with vehicles. The police officers are observing the protest.”

It was not the first time UI students got a failed promise regarding the power issue from a government official. In January, a Federal Housing Secretariat staff member urged them to suspend a protest. He promised to intervene; that electricity would be restored in three days.

The students momentarily suspended their demonstration but they were disappointed after the deadline.

Credit: FIJ.ng

Residents of the Nuku community in Nuku-Sabon Gari ward of Abaji Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are worried that they have to spend the night at a stream in the area to collect water which drips from under a rock.

Some of the residents, mostly women, who spoke when Abuja Metro visited the area on Tuesday morning, said the lack of potable water is a major challenge facing the community.

Mrs Laraba Dangana told our reporter that women usually leave their homes around 7 pm to 8 pm after preparing the day’s dinner for the stream which is already dried up.

‘’We often come here with our basins around that time; and sleep here on till the following morning just to get water from under the rock,’’ she said.

She said women waited throughout the night at the stream to allow water that usually drips slowly from under the rock to gather before fetching it one after the other.

According to her, residents of the community have been facing water scarcity, especially during the dry season every year, adding that the struggle to get water in the community has continued to pose serious health and environmental risks to residents of the village.

“Now, just look at the garbage that the rains pushed from the top of the hill down to the rocky gully, where we get this water. And despite the health risks, we still don’t have an option but to drink the water like that, without treating it.

“So, it is God that is saving us here in Nuku community,” she added.

Another housewife, Mrs Mairo Gwatana, bemoaned the water problem facing the community, saying residents mostly depend on water from the pond to survive in the area.

She said there were two boreholes provided by the area council in the community but water has not been flowing as expected from them.

She explained that one of the boreholes sank by the former chairman of the council, Alhaji Hassan Usman Sokodabo over 25 years ago, has not been functioning well because there is no generator to pump the water.

“The major problem is that there is no big generator that can pump water from the borehole. And you know Nuku community is located on top of the hill, which has also contributed to the water problem,” she said.

She said apart from buying water from water tankers, which always come from Abaji town, the stream had been the only source of water for people of the community.

She appealed to the council authorities to come to the aid of the residents by providing the community with a high-capacity generating set that will power the borehole.

She lamented the problems the women face while waiting at the stream to scoop water, saying, ‘’Sometimes snakes crawl over our legs while sleeping. But we thank God no one has been bitten.”

Our reporter observed as some of the women waited with their basins to scoop water from under the rock one after the other.

Some women were seen lying down as they waited for their turn to fetch water.

The village head of Nuku community, Alhaji Isah Zozo Kure, who spoke with our reporter at his palace, noted that lack of drinking water had been the major problem facing his people over the years.

He confirmed that women always left their homes late in the evening in search of water and returned in the morning, a situation which has been a source of concern to their husbands.

“I am sure you met some of our women at the stream, who I believe told you how they have been sleeping at the stream just to get water for domestic use,’’ he noted.

Kure said though the council authorities under the present administration of Alhaji Abubakar Umar Abdullahi sank a solar borehole with an overhead tank two years ago in the community, it has not been supplying water regularly.

“The solar borehole that was sunk by the present chairman of Abaji Area Council has not been working well. I later discovered that the contractor who carried out the project used a small submersible pump which has made it difficult to pump out water,” he said.

He added, “There is another borehole which was the first that was sunk by the former chairman, Alhaji Hassan Sokodabo, over 25 years ago, but it requires a big Lister generator to function, which we don’t have.’’

The village chief, while commending the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, for providing infrastructure across the FCT, appealed to him to come to the aid of his people in tackling the perennial water scarcity facing the community over the years.

An official from the works department of the area council, who preferred anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the press, confided in our reporter that the department had received a report on the solar borehole in the community and would soon invite the contractor to explain why he provided a small submersible pump for the borehole.

Credit: Daily Trust

• How SS Alagoa, JSC(rtd.) exposed politicians, businessmen and traditional rulers

Hon. Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), has called on judges and all Nigerians in positions of authority to use their influence to positively impact others, emphasising the importance of leaving a lasting legacy.

Her Lordship who spoke at a Special Court Session held in honour of the late retired Supreme Court Justice, Stanley Shenko Alagoa, at the Supreme Court ceremonial hall in Abuja on Wednesday Kekere-Ekun iterated that the impact of a person’s contributions to humanity defines their legacy.

“His lordship’s passing reminds us all that life is fleeting, and we must strive to leave behind footprints worthy of remembrance,” she said at the Supreme Court complex.

“Even in death, Hon. Justice Alagoa’s legacy endures—a beacon of inspiration, wisdom, and unwavering integrity. His fatherly love, humility, and dedication to justice have left an indelible mark on all who knew him.”

Chief Justice Kekere-Ekun while reflecting on Justice Alagoa’s career, described him as a towering figure, both in stature and intellect, whose judicial pronouncements were marked by methodical reasoning and brilliance.

“He was a rare breed, devoid of arrogance and elitism, embodying simplicity and dignity—a courageous and dogged fighter for his beliefs,” she said.

She encouraged the late Justice’s family to uphold the values and principles he stood for.

Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Price Lateef Fagbemi, SAN described Alagoa as a firm and courageous jurist who used the law as a tool for governance and societal reform.

“Although his tenure on the Supreme Court bench was brief, it was impactful,” Fagbemi noted. “His contributions and bold statements continue to generate discussions among legal, political, and social commentators.”

He commended the CJN for honouring the late Justice with a special court session, recognising his lifelong service to the nation.

Also paying tribute, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Afam Osigwe, SAN urged Nigerians to honour Mr Alagoa’s memory by rededicating themselves to the values he championed—justice, integrity, and the unwavering pursuit of the rule of law.

“We must uphold the high standards he set by continuing to work passionately for the development of Nigeria,” Mr Osigwe said.

Born on 4 October 1943, in Ogbolomabiri Nembe, Bayelsa State, Mr Alagoa died on 5 December 2024 at the age of 81.

During his valedictory session on 5 October 2013, revealed that politicians often resort to intimidation and harassment in their uncanny bid “to influence judges to depart from their sacred oath of office and the path of honour and rectitude.”

According to him, “I will be failing in my duty especially at this time if I do not say a word or two about allegations of corruption in the judiciary. Time was when this cankerworm was confined to the Magistracy and Customary or Native Courts.

“With time it is said to have spread and has now gained ground in the High and some say appellate Courts. This trend must be worrisome to any discerning person as some highly placed persons including distinguished and respected retired Justices of the Supreme Court and other legal luminaries have expressed grave concern over this ugly trend.

“The greatest challenges to the judiciary are politicians followed by businessmen.

“Traditional rulers must also share in the blame. It is this class of persons that bribe, intimidate, harass or influence judges to depart from their sacred oath of office and the path of honour and rectitude.

“A judge who hobnobs with this group may well be unwittingly allowing his position to be compromised and possibly jeopardized. A judge must hold fast to his faith in God and be bold. This done, these class of persons, like bees can only buzz around but must certainly lack the power and ability to sting.

“A necessary first step is the selection process. Only men and women of proven integrity and courage should be picked to sit on the bench,” he said.

Owolabi Akinlolu, the Deputy Superintendent of Police at the Ogudu Police Station in Lagos State who was accused of sexually violating and attacking a 17-year-old girl in his office at the Ogudu Police Division, has reportedly been retired quietly from service before his case was brought to court on Tuesday.

The surreptitious retirement seen as a move by the police to preserve one of their own has drawn the ire of rights activists, the traumatised survivor, and her family, who had expected that the suspect would be dismissed from service and prosecuted upon the completion of the investigation.

PUNCH Metro reported in July 2024 that the survivor’s mother, Mrs Aramide Olupona, accused the police of attempting to cover up the case, claiming that the suspect’s wife and family had pleaded with her to drop the charges, claiming Akinlolu was due to retire in December.

Sources familiar with the investigation accused the Nigeria Police Force of deliberately prolonging both the probe and the suspect’s arraignment until after his scheduled retirement in December 2024, allegedly to grant him a soft landing.

Akinlolu had allegedly summoned the teenager to his office on June 29, 2024, claiming that the suspect who had stolen her phone two weeks earlier had been apprehended. However, upon her arrival at the police station, the senior officer allegedly locked his office door and raped her.

In an interview with PUNCH Metro on Wednesday, an insider familiar with the investigation claimed that the police “deliberately allowed him to retire from service before initiating his prosecution.”

The source further revealed that the suspect was not dismissed from the force, stating that the officers handling the case in Lagos argued that “it was beyond the state command’s jurisdiction since the suspect was a senior police officer.”

He said, “They transferred the case to the Force headquarters in Abuja. It was Abuja that gave them directives on the investigation. Now, they are saying the completion of the investigation did not come before December. They are claiming it came after December,” the insider added.

A survivor’s family member (name withheld) made a similar accusation before Magistrate O.O. Fagboun ordered the suspect’s remand at the Kirikiri Maximum Correctional Centre on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, PUNCH Metro observed that, unlike Police Inspector Dikko Usman, a suspect in the murder of Lagos Chief Jubril Fatai, who was referred to as an “ex-inspector” in the case, Akinlolu was neither identified by his DSP rank nor described as a former police officer.

Another credible source privy to the matter but who did not want to be mentioned for fear of retribution stated that the suspect allegedly pointed a gun at the survivor’s head before committing the crime, accusing the police of not mentioning it in the charges.

A document obtained by our correspondent on Wednesday, containing the survivor’s account, corroborated the earlier claim.

“We are supposed to be seeing attempted murder or a threat to life because the man allegedly defiled the girl at gunpoint. It appears the police deliberately chose to be lenient on one of theirs,” the source lamented. Our correspondent also noted that it was not included in the charges against the suspect.

As of the time this report was filed, no response had been received regarding Akinlolu’s alleged retirement after our correspondent contacted the Force spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, and the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, on Wednesday but had yet to receive a reply.

Meanwhile, sharing her experience in an exclusive interview with one of our correspondents on Tuesday, the survivor said her “state of mind has not been the best.

“I am constantly scared, especially when I see police officers. Even when I’m just walking on the road and spot them, I feel terrified,” she told our correspondent.

The survivor lamented that the traumatic experience had strained her relationships with friends, admitting, “We’ve lost trust in the police. There’s nothing that would make us go to them for help now.”

She added that her family, especially her mother, is still struggling with the trauma.

“I’m not the first person he’s done this to, but I am determined to be the last. I hope we get the justice we deserve and that I can find peace within myself,” the survivor told our correspondent in an interview on Tuesday.

Read Also: Court orders remand of Policeman for allegedly raping teenager inside Lagos office

Mrs Olupona, the survivor’s mother, expressed gratitude that the suspect had been remanded but remained hopeful that her family would receive justice at the end of the trial.

“I’m happy that the defendant has finally been remanded. However, the incident that led us to this point fills me with sadness and anger. As a mother, I’m extremely protective of my child, and what happened to her is unacceptable.

“When it comes to my children’s safety and well-being, I don’t take things lightly. I’m not happy about what happened, and I want to see that justice is served,” Olupona said.

Richard Akinnola, a notable journalist and long-time ally of the late fiery human rights lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, has faulted Brigadier-General Kunle Togun (rtd.) allegations against the activist describing them as lies and pure fiction.

Togun was a Deputy Director of the State Security Service in the days of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Akinola further described the allegations as “egregious, insidious, and fallacious” while responding to an interview Togun granted on the Edmund Obilo podcast, where he claimed Fawehinmi harboured resentment against the military dictator, Ibrahim Babangida’s regime due to an alleged business favour from the regime of Muhammadu Buhari that was disrupted by the 1985 coup.

Akinnola discredited Togun’s assertions as outright falsehood, stating that Fawehinmi was never a businessman and had no financial dealings with the Buhari regime.

The full statement reads:

My attention has been drawn to an interview granted by Brigadier-General Kunle Togun(rtd), a former Deputy Director of State Security Service, to Edmund Obilo podcast, wherein he made some egregious, insidious, insensate and fallacious allegation against Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN (of blessed memory).
Togun was one of the two Security Chiefs of General Ibrahim Babangida who Gani Fawehinmi accused of killing by parcel bomb, Dele Giwa, founding Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch.
While Brigadier Togun is at liberty to defend himself in the podcast over the allegation, which is understandable, he however, doesn’t have that liberty to lie against Gani Fawehinmi.

He said that Gani was so much against the Babangida regime because he was pained that the Babangida’s coup which overthrew the General Buhari, scuttled Buhari’s business favour to Gani, which was in the works before Buhari was overthrown. He said Gani was supporting the Buhari regime, particularly on the trial of politicians for corruption by military tribunal. There was no doubt that Gani supported General Buhari’s war on corruption with the setting up of Recovery of Public property (Special Military Tribunals) Decree 3 of 1984, which pitted him against the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). While its true that Gani supported the Buhari junta on the trial of politicians and former public officers, his support was not blanket. He squared up with Buhari when it came to matter of rule of law and disobedience to court orders. One example would suffice.

Following the fire incident at NET building, one of the firefighters, Saidu Garba was interdicted. He briefed Gani and his interdiction was challenged. The matter came before Justice Yaya Jinadu. The judge gave series of orders for his reinstatement, which were disdainfully flouted by the government. It became a major face-off between the judge and the Buhari junta. At that critical moment, the judge couldn’t get the support of his Chief Judge, Adefarasin and the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Sodeinde Sowemimo. As a matter of fact, Sowemimo, as Chairman of the Advisory Judicial Council (as National Judicial Council, NJC was then known), directed Justice Jinadu to apologize to the Buhari government. Gani was livid and severely attacked the Buhari junta. Justice Jinadu resigned, rather than apologize to the executive.

In my law column in the Vanguard, l ran two installments on the saga. Gani called me and said the issues were too important and fundamental to be consigned to just my column. He suggested l wrote a book on the saga. That was how my first book -SALUTE TO COURAGE, published by Gani’s Nigerian Law publication came into being.

I gave this background to show Brigadier Togun that Gani was not just a rabid supporter of Buhari regime but of his anti-corruption crusade, the same way he gave a near-fanatical support to Nuhu Ribadu as EFCC Chairman. It’s on record that Gani turned down every brief against the EFCC. So, it was a blatant lie that Buhari was processing a financial favour for Gani before he was toppled by Babangida.

To use Togun’s words, “There is this patronage, it has to do with New York. And the money were in dollars. Before the thing materialized, Babangida took over”.
This is pure fiction. Gani was NEVER a businessman. He was into three things -He practiced law, he wrote law and he published law. He never sought for, nor received any government patronage. There was no way the General Babangida we all knew would have this sort of information on Gani and never used it for the eight years that Gani became a thorn in his flesh.
This is the same Babangida, who, on three different occasions, in interviews, stated that the only genuine critic he respected was Gani Fawehinmi. He stated this in a TELL interview.
In the TELL magazine edition of July 24, 1995 at pages 9-20 titled “l am the Evil Genius”, Babangida said:
“If there is one man l respect, it is Gani. It sounds strange.l, appreciate you that you have a strong conviction and fight for it consistently. This is the context in which l see Gani. He was a dogged fighter and l respect him for this. In fact, there are three of them l respect like that. They are Gani, late (Professor) Awojobi and Dr Yusuf Bala Usman. None of them says anything without doing his homework first”.

General Babangida, also in a Voice of Nigeria (VON) Hausa Service interview which was widely reported on October 24, 2000, said “Only Gani Fawehinmi and Colonel Dangiwa Umar are the only true, principled fighters of June 12. Others are sycophants who fed fat on June 12”.

So, l ask Brigadier Togun, would his boss, General Babangida have such damaging information about Gani and still make these statements about him and not release such so-called transaction, which Babangida allegedly stopped when he took over from Buhari?
To Brigadier Togun, yes, you may be pained that Gani fought you and Brigadier Haliru Akilu over the parcel bomb assassination of Dele Giwa but while some of us Gani associates are still alive, to keep quiet over this egregious lie against Gani is a sin.

May l also inform you that Gani Fawehinmi NEVER met Buhari throughout Buhari’s tenure as Head of State from December 31, 1983 to August 26, 1985. The first time Gani ever set eyes on General Muhammadu Buhari
was on Friday, September 5, 2003 at Ondo Central Mosque during the burial of Alhaja, Gani’s mum.

Perhaps, it is necessary to mention another lie akin to the one made by Togun. This time, by Gani’s erstwhile bosom friend, Dr Olu Onagoruwa.

Over the years, particularly during the Babangida junta, Gani and Onagoruwa were best of friends. As a matter of fact, during those days, conscious that his land phone would have been bugged, Gani and Onagoruwa made it a passion to be calling each other on the phone at about 1-2 am most days, abusing and cursing the Babangida regime.

When Gani’s battle for Dele Giwa started in 1986 and Gani wrote his first Will, Onagoruwa was one the executors of the Will. That was how close they were.

However, upon the General Sani Abacha coup which toppled the Shonekan’s interim government, Lt-General Diya emerged as the Chief of General Staff. Diya and Onagoruwa hailed from Odogbolu in Ogun state. Through the Odogbolu connection, Onagoruwa was offered the position of Attorney General in Abacha’s government. Gani vehemently dissuaded him not to accept. Onagoruwa was interested and he accepted. That was the parting of ways between the two friends. Gani updated his Will and removed Onagoruwa as an executor. He appointed First Trustees as the executors of his new and last Will and Testament.
It turned out that Gani’s prognosis concerning Onagoruwa was correct.

Over time, Onagoruwa fell out with Abacha and resigned and according to him, to get back at him, the government agents assassinated his son, Toyin. He was devastated and suffered stroke. Onagoruwa was later to write a book about his experience in Abacha government titled:”A rebel in Abacha government”.
In the book, he lied against his former friend, Gani Fawehinmi. In order to get back at him. Just like Togun with his fairy tales, he lied that it was Buhari who bought Gani’s flat for him in London. Gani was livid about this blatant lie and he replied with another book titled:”The lies and lies of Dr Olu Onagoruwa in his book ‘A rebel in Abacha’s government.

In his book, Gani stated that he bought the London flat in 1980, four years before Buhari came to office, adding that Dr Onagoruwa’s wife visited him in the flat in 1981.
PROPERTY IN LONDON
“I did not buy any house or any landed property of any description or of any type in London between 1983 and 1985, either from January 1983 when there was no Buhari military administration or from 31st December to 26th August, 1985…To this extent, the allegation of Dr Olu Onagoruwa in his book that l was assisted by the Buhari military administration to by a house in London is grievously false, disgracefully perverted, ignominiously infantile and spuriously demented. It is untrue because it is false.

1. In 1980, 26 years ago, and 4 years before Buhari military administration came to power, I bought an apartment in Croydon, London. It was 15 Willow Mount.
   The firm of Solicitors that represented me in the purchase of the property in 1980 was-
   HOLMAN FENWICK & WILLAN
   MARLOW HOUSE
   LLOYDS AVENUE
   LONDON EC 3N 3AL
   Their Telephone Number is 0207 488 2300. Their Fax Number is 0207 481 0316.

Please note that this firm of solicitors still exists in the same address and its current telephone and fax numbers are as stated above.

2. This small property has since been sold by me.
3. Dr. Olu Onagoruwa’s wife, Mrs. Titi Onagoruwa and her children visited my wife (Mrs Ganiat Bukun Fawehinmi) and myself in this property in 1981. She wore a red skirt and blouse. That was three years before Buhari’s military administration came to power. It is therefore surprising that Olu Onagoruwa could concoct a horrible falsehood as he shamelessly did in his book.
4. On Monday, 17th August, 1981, a prominent Barrister, who is also a traditional ruler, the Owa-Ale of Ikare, Oba S.K.A. Adedoyin in company of Late Primate Gabriel Oladunni visited me in the same property to brief me on the case involving the traditional status of Oba Owa-Ale of Ikare. I later handled that case in Nigeria after the visit and won same in a judgment delivered on Thursday, 8th July,1982. The case is reported in (1983) 4 NCLR 786.

5. The only property I have in London today is a one bedroom flat at Flat 20, Maybourne
   Grange, Turnpike Link, East Croydon, Surrey, Post Code CRO 5NH. Their Fax No is 0208-686-4516.

6. I completed the purchase of this property on 2nd October, 1981 through a company called Wates. The full address of that company is-
WATES RESIDENTIAL SALES AND
LETTING ESTATE AGENTS
52 CHICHESTER ROAD
PARK HILL, CROYDON
SURREY
Their current Telephone number is 0208-680-2422 while their Post Code is CRO 5NB.

7. I have had this Flat since 1981 till today, December 2006, a period of 25 years. Whenever I go to London, I stay there. I also use the place as my overseas contact address. I have no other property of any description or of any type in England or any other place in the world outside Nigeria.

8. I bought this Flat for £38,500.00 (Thirty-Eight Thousand, Five Hundred Pounds Sterling) in 1981.
9. From the facts stated above, this property was bought more than 2 years before General Buhari administration came to power on Sunday,1st January 1984.

10 Anybody who wants to check the authenticity or the truthfulness of the facts I have stated above can contact the addresses listed above.

In addition, investigation can be conducted in the appropriate Land Registry in England. The London telephone number of the appropriate Land Registry is 02082082351181. If you are phoning from Nigeria,you dial 009-44-2082351181. If you are still not satisfied, you can engage the services of a solicitor to make the enquiries in the appropriate Land Registry in England.”

I went this extent to quote Gani in extenso in order to put issues in proper perspective when lies are being retailed as done by Brigadier Togun in his said interview.
Another lie told by Brigadier Togun in the interview was to the effect that Gani Fawehinmi paid the damages awarded against him by the court for defamation against Togun and Akilu. When asked by his interviewer how much Gani paid, he said he couldn’t remember. Is it possible for you to be paid some millions of Naira and you couldn’t remember? The truth is that Gani didn’t pay any damages. Let me help Brigadier Togun. The court awarded N6 million as damages to him and Akilu for defamation, that is, N3 million apiece but Gani challenged the decision at the appellate court. Except l check my records, l can’t say precisely now what happened to the matter at the appellate courts.

These clarifications and rebuttals are necessary because some of us cannot be alive and keep quiet when blatant lies are being peddled against Gani Fawehinmi.

E-Signed

RICHARD AKINNOLA
(A friend and associate of Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN)
Tuesday, February 11, 2025

A Port Harcourt, Rivers State High Court has convicted and sentenced one Eze Kingsley to death by hanging for the murder of one Wagbara David a mortuary owner.

The convict committed the crime on December 7, 2018, at No. 4, Rumumasi Community along the East-West, Port Harcourt.

Kingsley, who was on trial for three counts of murder and infliction of grievous bodily harm, was reported to have used a sharp object to stab David.

David was rushed to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, UPTH, where he was confirmed dead.

An argument reportedly erupted between Kingsley, a conductor of a petroleum tanker, and David, who operated a morgue, after David instructed the tanker driver to remove the vehicle from his business premises, claiming that its presence was interfering with his operations.

Wagbara’s death caused anger and pandemonium in the area, as the indigenes trooped out for a reprisal attack but were stopped by security operatives.

In delivering judgment, Justice Boma Diepiri stated that the prosecution had proven every element of the murder charge beyond reasonable doubt, and accordingly convicted and sentenced Kingsley to death.

Justice Diepiri ruled that Kingsley should be hanged by the neck until death, and prayed that his soul rest in peace.