Law
Nasarawa guber: Tribunal admits four PDP witnesses

***Fixes July 13th for next sitting
From Daniel Abel, Lafia
The Nasarawa State governorship election petition tribunal has admitted four witness from the petitioners, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its Governorship Candidate Hon David Ombugadu.
The PDP presented only four out of the nine witnesses scheduled to appeared at the resumed sitting
The four witnesses from the petitioner, Hon Ombugadu, the governorship candidate and the PDP presented their evidences under cross examination by the respondents, as all evidences were admitted by the court.
The Legal fireworks resumed at the election petition Tribunal for Nasarawa State following the petition filed by the governorship candidate of PDP, David Emmanuel Ombugadu, challenging the declaration of Abdullahi Sule as the winner of the March 18th governorship election in Nasarawa State.
The three-man panel led by Justice Ezekiel Ajayi at the resumed hearing on the petition listened to arguments and counter-arguments canvassed by counsels to Governor Sule, the All progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent national Electoral Commission, (INEC).
The argument centered on the admissibility or otherwise of documents and witnesses tendered and called by the petitioner.
At the sitting, the petitioner through his counsels led by M.J Numa tendered documents including voter registers, list of adhoc staff, result sheets from several Local Government Areas, among others, to substantiate it’s claims.
Counsels to the respondents however objected to the admissibility of the documents, but reserved their arguments till the final addresses.
Ruling on the issue, Justice Ajayi withheld ruling on the propriety of the admissibility of the documents or otherwise but allowed the petitioners to tender evidences brought before the tribunal.
Witnesses were also called by the petitioners from Lafia and Toto local government councils to substantiate the allegation of rigging which were however objected by the counsels to the defendants as they reserved their argument to a later date.
Witnesses to the PDP and it’s candidate, David Emmanuel Ombugadu, Ehaluka Aaron, Samule Dakwe and Ibrahim Umar Othman who were PDP agents during the election identified their deposition and told the court that they signed the documents under duress.
“We were made to sign the documents under duress”, the PDP agents alleged.
It will be recalled that Ombugadu who was also a governorship candidate in the 2019 governorship election had approached the Tribunal to upturn the declaration of Sule as the elected governor of Nasarawa State, citing irregularities in the conduct of the polls.
Ombugadu had prayed the Tribunal to declare him winner of the March 18th election based on evidences he is presenting before the court in accordance with the 1999 constitution as amended and the Electoral Act 2022.
Meanwhile, the three man panel of justices adjourned sitting to 13th of July 2023 for continuation of hearing of cases.
Law
MAMBILLA: Court halts proceedings, adjurns over EFCC’s invalid prosecution witness against Agunloye

The hearing of the criminal charges against the former Minister of Power and Steel, Dr. Olu Agunloye, which formally began at the FCT Court Thursday, 30 May 2024 before the same Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie was stalled over presentation of invalid prosecution witness by EFCC against Agunloye
EFCC is prosecuting Dr. Agunloye for “awarding in 2003 a $6 billion Build, Operate and Transfer $¾(BOT) contract without cash backing, disobeying oral directives of the President, forging his own letter as a sitting Minister and receiving a retroactive bribe of N3.6 million 16 years after.” To prove its case, EFCC has listed seven witnesses excluding former President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo who had earlier volunteered to testify at the court.
At the court, EFCC presented its first Prosecution Witness (PW1), Mr Adewale as “representative of the Guaranty Trust Bank”. He was brought to discuss the GTBank statement of accounts presented by EFCC. But the moment Mr Adewale disclosed that he was not in the employment of GTBank, the defence lawyers quickly pointed out the aberration to the court which immediately halted the presentation of Mr Adewale. The court promptly stopped the proceedings and adjourned the hearing till Monday, 10 June 2024 to enable the EFCC regularise its Prosecution Witness Number One.
It will be recalled that the former Minister, Dr. Olu. Agunloye, has consistently asserted that he did not commit any crime, and that EFCC is prosecuting him to corroborate FGN’s pleas at the arbitration in France hoping to free FGN from liabilities in the Arbitration even though FGN knows that the issues that led to the international arbitration were caused under Buhari’s APC Government and not by Agunloye. However, Agunloye will have to combat the emergent bias, prejudice, and prejudgment on the part of the trial judge and has to struggle very hard for justice in Nigeria.
Law
EFCC to arraign Bello on Thursday over alleged N80.2b money laundering

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) has indicated it will on Thursday, April 18, 2024 arraign a former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Adoza Bello before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
The antigraft agency said Bello will be arraigned before Justice Emeka Nwite alongside three other suspects, Ali Bello, Dauda Suleiman and Abdulsalam Hudu on 19- count charges bordering on money laundering to the tune of N80, 246,470, 088.88
The arraignment is being perfected following a warrant of arrest and enrolment order granted the EFCC by the court on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.
Count one of the charges reads: That you, Yahaya Adoza Bello, Ali Bello, Dauda Suliman, and Abdulsalam Hudu( Still at large), sometime, in February, 2016, in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired amongst yourselves to convert the total sum of N80, 246,470, 088.88 which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of your unlawful activity to wit, criminal breach of trust and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(a) and punishable under Section 15(3) of the Money Laundering ( Prohibition) Act, 2011 as amended”.
Count 17 of the charges read: “That you Yahaya Bello between 26th July 2021 to 6th April 2022 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court aided E-Traders International Limited to conceal the aggregate sum of N3081,804,654.00( Three Billion, Eighty One Million Eight Hundred and Four Thousand Six Hundred and Fifty Four Naira) in account number 1451458080 domiciled in Access BankPlc, which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of proceeds of unlawful activity to wit, criminal breach of trust and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(a), 15(2) (d) of the Money Laundering ( Prohibition) Act, 2011 as amended and punishable under Section 15( 3) of the same Act.
Count 18 of the charges reads: “That you Yahaya Adoza Bello sometime in November 2021 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court indirectly procured E-Traders international Limited to transfer the aggregate sum of $570,330.00( Five Hundred and Seventy Thousand , Three Hundred and Thirty Dollars) to account number 4266644272 domiciled in TD Bank, United States of America which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of proceeds of unlawful activity to wit, criminal breach of trust and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 15(2) (d) of the Money Laundering ( Prohibition) Act, 2011 as amended and punishable under Section 15( 3) of the same Act”.
“The Commission’s attempt to execute the Warrant of Arrest lawfully obtained against Bello met stiff resistance on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. The security cordon around the former governor’s residence in Abuja was breached by the current Governor of Kogi State, Usman Ododo who ensured that the suspect was spirited away in his official vehicle.
“As a responsible law enforcement agency, the EFCC exercised restraint in the face of the provocation, waiting for his arraignment on Thursday, April 18, 2024.
“It is needful to state that Bello is not above the law and would be brought to justice as soon as possible.”
Law
Court bars Ganduje from parading himself as member of APC

Yhe Kano State High Court has granted an ex parte order restraining the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, from parading himself as a member of the party.
The court ordered that Ganduje must refrain from presiding over all affairs of the National Working Committee of the APC.
The application waa said to have been granted by Justice Usman Na’abba on Tuesday, following an ex parte motion filed by Dr. Ibrahim Sa’ad on behalf of two executive members of Ganduje’s ward, Dawakin-Tofa Local Government Area, the Assistant Secretary, Laminu Sani and Legal Adviser, Haladu Gwanjo (plaintiffs), who were part of the nine ward executives who suspended Ganduje on Monday.
The court directed the four parties (respondents) joined in the matter, including the APC, NWC, APC Kano State Working Committee, and Ganduje, to henceforth, maintain status quo ante belum as of April 15th,2024 pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit on April 30th 2024
Justice Na’abba, also held as prayed, stopped State Working Committee APC Kano from interfering with the legally and validly considered decision of executives of Ganduje ward, essentially on action endorsed by a two-thirds majority of the executives as provided by the party constitution.
The ex parte order read,, “An order is hereby granted directing all parties in the suit APC (first), APC National Working Committee (second), Kano State Working Committee APC (third), Dr. Abdullah Umar Ganduje (fourth), to maintain status quo ante belum as of April 15, 2024.
“The order thereby restraining the first respondent (APC) from recognising the fourth respondent (Ganduje) as a member of APC and prohibiting the fourth respondent (Ganduje) from presiding over any affairs of the NWC and restraining the state Working Committee from interfering with the legally and validly decision of the ward executives of Ganduje ward.
“That the fourth respondent (Ganduje}is prohibited from parading himself as a . member of APC or doing any act that may _ portray him or seem to be a member of APC pending the hearing and determination of the
substantive suit.”
Nine members of the Ganduje ward proclaimed the suspension of the National Chairman of the APC over the allegation of corruption slammed on him by the Kano State Government.
The nine APC executives said they were prompted to act following a petition written by one Ja’afaru Adamu, a member of the AP from the National chairman’s polling unit.
in the petition, Adamu complained over allegations of corruption charges against the
former governor just as he urged the ward leaders to investigate the matter to redeem the dented image of the party and the implication on President Bola Tinubu’s fight against corruption.
Although the chairman and secretary of the ward failed to act on the petition filed en April 8, 2024, nine members of the executives, led by the legal adviser, acted upon the petition, a decision that led to Ganduje’s suspension.
-
Crime1 year ago
Police nabs Killer of Varsity Lecturer in Niger
-
News1 year ago
FCT-IRS tells socialite Aisha Achimugu not to forget to file her annual returns
-
Appointment1 year ago
Tinubu names El-Rufai, Tope Fasua, others in New appointments
-
News From Kogi1 year ago
INEC cancells election in 67 polling units in Ogori-Magongo in Kogi
-
News From Kogi2 years ago
Echocho Challenges Tribunal Judgment ordering rerun in 94 polling units
-
News1 year ago
IPOB: Simon Ekpa gives reason for seperatists clamour for Biafra
-
Metro12 months ago
‘Listing Simon Ekpa among wanted persons by Nigeria military is rascality, intimidation’
-
News1 year ago
Kingmakers of Igu/ Koton-Karfe dare Bello, urge him to reverse deposition of Ohimege-Igu