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Kogi High Court adjourns ruling for Bench Warrant on SDP Deputy Governorship Candidate

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By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja.

Kogi State High Court sitting in Lokoja has adjourned to October 23, for ruling on an Ex parte motion urging the court to issue a Bench Warrant for the arrest of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) Deputy Governorship candidate, Mr Sam Ranti Abenemi.

The trial Judge, Justice A.S. Ibrahim reserved the ruling after hearing submissions of the State Counsel and Kogi State Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Badama Kadiri Esq and Counsel to the Defendant, Jibrin Samuel Okutepa (SAN).

In the Case No: HCL/112c/2023 between: The State – Complainant/Applicant and Sam Ranti Abeneml – Defendant, the state government alleged forgery of GCE O’Level certificate against the defendant.

Charged with Perjury, False Declaration, Use of False Documents as Genuine and Possession of Forged Record, the SDP Deputy Governorship candidate was said to have tendered a forged 1979 Ordinarily Level Certificate in his Form EC9 submitted to INEC.

The Prosecuting Counsel, said the offence was contrary to Sections 158, 164, 366 and 368 respectively of the Kogi State Penal Code.

According to him, a complaint was written to the Director of Security, Department of State Services (DSS) by one Shaibu O. Abdullahi, the vice chairman, Kogi Central Senatorial District of the SDP.

According to him, Abdullahi had alleged in the “Complaint” that Abenemi presented a forged GCE result to the Independent national electoral Commission (INEC) for the November 11th, 2023, Governorship Election.

The SDP Deputy Governorship Candidate, according to Abdullahi, lied on Oath in his Form EC9 (Substitute) Affidavit in support of particulars, that he obtained the said GCE result. 

The Prosecution further submitted that during investigation of the complaint by the DSS, several invitations were extended to the defendant but he failed to honour them.

He said that the case diary was forwarded to the office of the DPP for Legal Advice and the Legal Advice declared a prima facie case of Perjury, False Declaration, Use of False Documents as Genuine and Possession of Forged Record against Abenemi.

Kadiri submitted that the Defendant had also refused to appear in court for his trial and went ahead to file the Motion Ex Parte to compel appearance through a Bench Warrant.

The motion, supported by a seven-paragraph affidavit deposed to by one Ayegba Momoh, a Litigation Registrar in the state Ministry of Justice prayed the Court to grant an Order issuing a Bench Warrant for the arrest of the Defendant answer the case against him. 

He also prayed for an Order of the Court directing all Police Officers, Officers of the Department of State Services (DSS), Officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) or any other person executing the warrant of arrest to apprehend the defendant.

Counsel to the defendant, J.S. Okutepa (SAN), flanked by J.O. Adele (SAN) and 12 other lawyers, told the court that the State was only exhibiting the “Audacity of Arrogance in trying to procure a Bench Warrant against the defendant.”

He said that by the 9th of October when the prosecution were filing the Motion Ex Parte, they had not even served notice on the defendant adding, “As at 9 am when Your Lordship sat, the Bailiff had not been mobilized to effect service.

“If he (Abenemi) had been served, he would have been here. He has nothing to run away from. Granting this motion will be a dangerous precedent to set for criminal jurisprudence. 

“Justice is not only for the DPP or Kogi State, it is also for the defendant. Justice hurried is justice denied. We should all flee from appearance of impropriety”, Okutepa cautioned.

The trial judge, Justice A.S.Ibrahim adjourned to October 23, for ruling on the Motion Ex Parte. (Ends)

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MAMBILLA: Court halts proceedings, adjurns over EFCC’s invalid prosecution witness against Agunloye

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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.

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EFCC to arraign Bello on Thursday over alleged N80.2b money laundering

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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.”

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Court bars Ganduje from parading himself as member of APC

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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.

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