Silas Ọnụ, Esq. the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the February 3, 2024, Ebonyi South Senatorial bye-election, has accused the Election Petition Tribunal judges hearing his petition of bias.

Onu made the accusations in a petition to the President of the Court of Appeal dated 29th April, 2024, wherein he demanded the disbandment of the the panel.

He is challenging the declaration of Processor Anthony Okorie of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He accused the three judges of the tribunal namely Justice H.N. Kunaza, Justice Basset Nkanang and Justice M. O. Agboola, of blatant disregard for justice.

According to him, on 15th of April he applied via a Motion on Notice for an order of Inspection of electoral material, specifically the BVAS.

Onu noted that while the motion was opposed by the 2nd and 3rd Respondents, INEC the first respondent against whom the application was made, did not oppose it.

“We made our case for the grant of the order for inspection to be done during the trial and supported the application with a recent Supreme Court decision showing that the Tribunal has the power to grant such an application in the interest of justice.

“In any case, the 2nd and 3rd Respondents also pleaded the BVAS in their respective replies to the Petition.”

He lamented that the tribunal on Saturday, being the 27th of April, 2024, delivered its ruling on the application dismissing same on the ground that granting it will amount to amending the Petition.

He argued that the claim by the tribunal can best be described as arguing the case of the Respondents in the most untruthful manner.

“It can never be acceptable to me and should not be allowed to infest the already beleaguered reputation of the Nigerian Judiciary, especially in election cases,” he argued.

Explaining further, Onu said the tribunal’s claim that the petitioners in their petition did not plead BVAS is false.

“This is not only false, but manifestly wicked and clearly intended to pervert justice by denying the Petitioner the right to present their case and evidence before the tribunal, because the BVAS was copiously pleaded in paragraph 42 (16) of the Petition at page 32 in the following word “The BVAS machines used in the election for physical inspection of the data stored therein, together with their respective serial numbers.”

Report by Daily Post

The number of illegal refineries continually being destroyed by Nigerian military in the Niger Delta is a testimony that Nigeria can refine crude oil in the most inexpensive way and save citizens the unending torture of fuel shortage and the crisis associated with it.

It is a known fact that the during the civil war, Biafra refined its own oil, built its own ammo, and literally supported itself via local ingenuity; in the heat of a war!

As Nigerians groan under the present biting fuel crisis, with the NNPC keeping sealed lips over their promised conclusion of the turnaround maintenance at Port Harcourt refinery,, Prof. Joy N. Ezeilo (SAN), former Dean Faculty of Law, UNN and former UN Special Rapporteur on Human Trafficking maintains that “this lack of accountability in the public sector is not just frustrating, it’s deeply disappointing.”

Ezeilo on her X handle had this to say:

“Persistent fuel scarcity and arbitrary petroleum price hikes continue, while the NNPC remains tight-lipped about the root causes. Unfulfilled promises about local refineries and questions about accountability from public officials who have not delivered on their responsibilities also remain. 

“I tweeted on 15th March, ‘ Re: The breaking news that the Port Harcourt Refinery will start production in two weeks, i.e. by 28th March 2024. If I were Mele Kyari, chief executive of NNPC, I would not talk about when refineries will start operations again. I will wait until they start, bring in the media, and show live that the refinery is now working, refining crude oil and trucks loading in Real Time. This will convince Nigerians with so much mistrust of government at all levels for good reasons- lack of good governance, continuing promises and inability to keep to promises made….’

“It’s been over a month, and the narrative has shifted to the PH refinery turnaround being 70 percent complete. This lack of accountability in the public sector is not just frustrating, it’s deeply disappointing. Those responsible for delivering such projects with efficiency and transparency seem to operate without consequences, making false promises blatantly to Nigerians. The road to redemption in Nigeria is indeed a long one, but it’s a journey we’re committed to. We refuse to give up on the hope for a more accountable public sector!”

By Olayinka Shehu

A trending video posted on microblogging site, Twitter by Nana Kwame Ahoufe, a Ghanaian Television presenter that the president of Somalia and his vice-president are engaged in fisticuffs is false.

Nana’s, twitter profile states that he is a TV Director & TV Presenter at Citi TV, a privately owned multi-platform network based in Adabraka, Accra.

He had tweeted the video with an accompanying text that read, “The President of Somalia and his Vice President in fisticuffs! Exchanging executive blows for the good of their country maybe?,” he wrote on Twitter.

The tweet has since gone viral. Nana’s 11 seconds video has now been viewed more than 2000 times, with 701 retweets and comments, 439 likes.

The video has also been picked up and published by some blogs in Nigeria such as Elombah News. Vanguard Newspaper also reported it with a headline, “A President, his Vice, ‘exchange blows’ in public”.

Findings

To verify the authenticity of the video, The ICIR did google and youtube searches and also used google translate in searching for the meaning of Golaha Wakiilada and did a google search on the flag that appeared on the video.

Golaha Wakiilada means of House of Representatives in Somali language, which is the lower house of the de facto state of Somaliland.

The green and red flag with a black star that appeared in the video is that of Somaliland.

Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is a self-declared state, internationally considered to be part of Somalia.

Somaliland is a breakaway region on the coast of the Gulf of Aden, Somaliland declared independence after the overthrow of Somali military dictator Siad Barre in 1991.

A Google video search showed that the 20-minute long video appeared on youtube on the 12 of September 2015 on a Somali youtube channel, Dhamays Media Production, with an English translated caption of “Watch the War on the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Somaliland”, having 1,424,316 views, Somali Star Tv, (14 minutes 37 seconds) with 86,967 views, and on 2Qumac, (9 minutes 49 seconds) on the 13th of September 2015 with 246,273 views.

A Google translate of the caption that accompanied the video on 2Qumac read, “How did the Somaliland House of Representative’s scandal start?”

Another caption under the video indicated that the fight was between Chairman Irro and his deputy Bashe.

Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi (Irro)  is a Somaliland politician who was the 4th Speaker of the Somaliland House of Representatives.

Bashe Mohamed Farah Irro then deputy is the 5th and current Speaker of the Somaliland House of Representatives.

Somalia’s government officially comprises the executive branch of government, with the parliament serving as the legislative branch. It is headed by the President of Somalia, to whom the Council of Ministers reports through the Prime Minister.

Somalia practises a Federal Parliamentary system of government which is currently headed by Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed who is also the current President of Somalia, and Mahdi Mohammed Gulaid, the Prime Minister.

Somalia currently does not have an office of Deputy President. The last officially recognised Somalian vice president was  Siad Barre, ousted in 1991.

VERDICT

Nana’s claim that the viral video is of the Somalian president and his deputy is false. The Federal government of Somalia currently has no office for deputy president. Also, “Golaha Wakiilada” which appeared on the video is the Somali language for House of Representatives (Somaliland) when translated to English, and the flag that appeared on the video is that of Somaliland and not Somalia.

Somaliland with its capital at Hargeisaan is autonomous region in northern Somalia, which broke away and declared independence from Somalia in 1991. No foreign power recognises Somaliland’s sovereignty, but it is self-governing with an independent government, democratic elections and a distinct history.

Watch the fight below.

Credits: ICIR

Fifty-year-old Rajveer Mahey will have enough time in jail relieving how he repeatedly stabbed his 45-year-old wife, Kamaljeet Mahey in their garage in Stowlawn, West Midlands, UK leaving her with catastrophic wounds to her neck and body.

Kamaljeet received a total of 28 ‘sharp force injuries’ in the attack, which happened at around 4.35am on December 15 last year and died at the scene.

About two hours later Mahey called relatives who live nearby saying ‘I have killed Kami now – I’m going to kill myself’.

But he didn’t take his own life, instead he walked calmly outside to meet his relatives before showing them where he had left his wife’s body in the garage.

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard how Mahey falsely believed that his wife was having an affair with someone at their work despite being repeatedly told this was untrue.

His defence counsel, Gurdeep Garcha KC said Mahey ‘only had himself to blame’ and there was ‘a darker side behind closed doors’.

He added it was unlikely Mahey’s children would ever speak to him again.

In his sentence, Judge Michael Chambers KC noted that there was evidence that Kamaljeet fought back and ‘must have suffered’.

He said: ‘This was a brutal and sustained murder in a domestic context with domestic violence and abuse. In accordance to the guidelines for such offending that increases the seriousness. There was use of a weapon, namely a knife, and the offence occurred in her own home.”

Judge Chambers, who spoke to Mahey through an interpreter, told him he had shown little remorse for “depriving his children of a much loved member.”

He added that his best mitigation was his early guilty plea made at the preliminary hearing last month.

Judge Chambers said: “On the day in question you spoke to her brother-in-law again saying you suspected she was an an affair. You were clearly still angry and agitated. You knew she did not drink much alcohol, but unusually you encouraged her to drink some and you were unusually affectionate to your children. A combination of that leads to the clear inference that you have decided to kill her.

“CCTV shows that at 4.35am you went with her into the garage. It is right to say that it was usual for her to be preparing food in the garage at 4am. You lured her into the garage. You did so in order to to kill her. Loud screams were recorded at 4.35am. Four minutes later you came out and returned to the house.

“It was not until 6.29am, two hours later, that you called your sister’s number then told your brother-in-law what you did.”

Mahey was jailed for life with a minimum term of 16 years and eight months minus 123 days for time spent in custody on remand.

The children of Debe Odumegwu-Ojukwu have filed an appeal against the judgment of the Enugu High Court which held that their father Debe Ojukwu was not recognised by Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu as his biological son in his lifetime.

Nene Grace Odumegwu-Ojukwu and  Obianuju Sarah Odumegwu-Ojukwu in notice of appeal filed by their counsel Ikeazor Akaraiwe, SAN have asked the Court of Appeal Enugu division to set aside the judgment delivered on the 27th day of March, 2024 by Hon. Justice A.O. Onovo.

Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, James Chukwunenye Ezike and the Probate Registrar, Enugu State High Court are respondents in the appeal.

Grounds of Appeal:

Ground One – MISDIRECTION

The learned trial court misdirected itself thus occasioning a miscarriage of justice, when, after correctly holding that the letter dated the 4^th Day of September, 1995, having been rejected in evidence and marked “rejected,” lacked evidential value and could not be relied upon by the court; proceeded to rely on the contents of the said document in arriving at its decision against the Appellants.

Particulars of Misdirection:

1. On the 17^th day of May, 2018, learned counsel to the 1^st and 2^nd Respondents sought to tender in evidence a letter dated 4^th day of September, 1995 but same was rejected and marked “rejected” by the Honourable Court upon the objection of counsel to the Appellants.
2. Learned counsel to the 1^st and 2^nd Respondents raised the issue again in his final written address and urged the lower court to vacate its earlier ruling and admit the said letter in evidence.
3. The learned trial judge in its judgment rightly upheld the position of the law that once a document has been rejected in evidence and marked rejected, same lacks evidential value and cannot be relied on by the court.
4. However, the learned trial judge proceeded to rely on the contents of the said letter in reaching its decision thereby occasioning a miscarriage of justice. 

Ground Two – Misdirection

The learned trial court erred in law thus occasioning a miscarriage of justice when it failed to ascribe probative value to exhibits C and C1 (Processes in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/801/1998) in reaching the irresistible conclusion that Late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu duly acknowledged Chief Sylvester Debe Odumegwu-Ojukwu [substituted by the Appellants] as his son.

Particulars of Misdirection:

1. The Appellants tendered Exhibits C and C1 [Processes in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/801/1998] in the course of the trial.
2. In that suit, at paragraph 25 of the Petition [Exhibit C], the Petitioner stated that Chief Sylvester Debe Odumegwu-Ojukwu [substituted by the Appellants] is the son of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.
3. In admitting the said assertion in the petition, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu who was the 2^nd Respondent stated in his reply [Exhibit C1] at paragraph 21 thus:

“The 2^nd Respondent avers that the averment contained in paragraph 25 of the petition is a fabrication of lies and a wicked and dangerous wedge between a son and his father, allegation to which the petitioner is put to the strictest proof thereof.”

d. Exhibit C1 is evidence that Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu acknowledged Chief Sylvester Debe Odumegwu-Ojukwu [substituted by the Appellants] as his son.

e. The trial court ought to have relied on Exhibits C and C1 to hold that Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu acknowledged Chief Sylvester Debe Odumegwu-Ojukwu [substituted by the Appellants] as his son.

Further Grounds of Appeal may be filed upon receipt of the Records of Appeal.

Reliefs Sought from the Court of Appeal:

1. An Order allowing this appeal and setting aside the judgment of the Enugu State High Court, sitting in Enugu delivered on the 27^th day of March, 2024 per Hon. Justice A.O. Onovo.
2. An order granting the Appellants’ reliefs at the lower court.

Minister of Works, Sen. Dave Umahi, said on Sunday that he had been given a presidential directive on the immediate design of the Sokoto-Badagry Coastal Highway.

Umahi spoke after he inspected the end of Section one, phase one, of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and its realignment in Lagos.

“I’m happy that Mr President has also directed me to start the immediate design of the Sokoto-Badagry Coastal Highway.

“This one is a spur of the Coastal highway, and that one is 1000 kilometres.

“We’ve started the design and I’m very sure that as soon as Federal Executive Council approves it , we will be starting at Sokoto side, which is the zero point.

“We also have another spur which is going to go from Enugu -Abakaliki-Ogoja going to Cameroon.

“So we have that spur and it’s about 361 kilometres, going through Otukpo to Benue to Nasarawa and ends up at Apo in Abuja.

“We are also going to be presenting it to Mr President, and when this is done, then the coastal routes like we promised will go to circle the entire country,” he said.

The Minister said upon completion, the coastal road would connect the South-West, South-South, North-East, North-West and North-Central regions of Nigeria.

Umahi expressed strong belief in the significance of the coastal road project, which he said would be a first in Africa.

“So, this will be the legacy that we’ve never seen in Africa, and I think that God has sent Mr. President to do this and he’s just doing it.

“He’s a man of courage and we are also learning courage following him,” the minister said.

NAN

As the war against female genital mutilation (FGM) continues, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has warned that FGM is a crime, that attracts four years jail term.

The agency made this known in a post it shared on its official X handle (Formerly Twitter) @naptipnigeria on Sunday.

A member of the public on his X handle @realmuhammadd, asked if it was compulsory for a newly born baby girl to be circumcised.

Another X user with the handle @AAAlhlaji21, responded by saying, that was important to perform circumcision on baby girl, to prevent them from being promiscuous when they grow up.

NAPTIP, however, debunked the myth in its reaction to the posts, warning against the practice.

“Dear Muhammad- Just so you know Female Circumcision (FC) is a crime under the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act, (VAPP) 2015 and under various states’ VAPP Laws.

“Anyone who performs FC is liable to up to four years imprisonment, an attempt attracts two years imprisonment,” it stated.

According to the agency, anyone who incites, aids, or counsels another person to commit the offence of FC, is liable to up to two years imprisonment.

“We urge you to use this as a teaching moment to also educate others.

“Remember “Female Circumcision, Genital Mutilation” IS A CRIME, ” It stated.

NAN