Court permits Lawyer to sue Buhari
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday granted permission to an Abuja-based lawyer, Mr Oladimeji Ekengba, to pursue a suit against the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), over his refusal to appoint all the 33 nominees recommended to him by the National Judicial Council for appointment as judges of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Ekengba had in an ex parte application sought the leave of court to institute the legal action to seek an order of mandamus compelling the President to appoint all the nominees as judges as recommended by the NJC. Although Buhari
Court orders Ondo Assembly to reinstate suspended lawmaker
An Ondo State High Court in Akure, the state capital, on Thursday nullified the indefinite suspension of a member of the state House of Assembly, Mr Tomide Akinribido, by the House. Akinribido, a member of the Zenith Labour Party, who represents the Ondo West Constituency 1 in the Assembly, was one of the nine lawmakers who opposed the impeachment process of the Ondo State Deputy Governor, Mr Agboola Ajayi, few months ago He was suspended indefinitely in August by the leadership of the House over alleged gross misconduct. Displeased with the action of the Assembly against him, he headed for
Breaking: SERAP takes Buhari to court over N800bn recovered loot
Social Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) said it has filed a lawsuit before the Federal High Court, Abuja against President Buhari over his failure to publish details of names of people from whom N800 billion in looted funds have been recovered, dates of the recovery, and details of projects on which the money has been spent. In a series of tweets on Sunday, SERAP recalled that Buhari had in paragraph 78 of his speech to mark the occasion of the Democracy Day on June 12, 2020, stated that: “the government has recovered looted funds in excess of N800 billion.
Court sentences Olisa Metuh to seven years imprisonment
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday sentenced a former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Olisa Metuh, to seven years imprisonment on corruption charges regarding his activities preceding the 2015 presidential election which his party lost. Justice Okon Abang delivering judgment at the proceedings which lasted over six hours, convicted Metuh on all the seven counts, including the fraudulent receipt of N400m from the Office of the National Security Adviser in November 2014 and use of the money for political activities of the PDP and for his personal purposes. The court also convicted Metuh for transacting
Court stops NERC from increasing electricity tariff
A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered stakeholders in the electricity industry to maintain current prices pending the determination of a motion challenging the proposed tariff hike. Justice Muslim Hassan fixed January 20, 2020 to hear the motion. The judge made the order in a suit by the Incorporated Trustees of Human Rights Foundation against 15 respondents in the electricity industry. The respondents are: Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC); the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE); the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Company Plc; and the Minister of Power. Also joined as respondents are Abuja, Benin, Enugu, Ikeja, Kaduna, Kano, Port
Court Summons AGF, DSS Boss Over Sowore’s Rearrest
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has summoned the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to appear before it over the continued detention of Omoyele Sowore, the convener of #Revolution Now movement. Justice Inyang Ekwo who issued the summon on Tuesday also ordered the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Bichi, to appear alongside the AGF. He ordered the minister and the DSS boss to appear before the court to show cause why Sowore should not be released on bail, pending when they would file a charge against him if there was
Breaking: DSS releases Sowore, Bakare on bail
The State Security Service (SSS) on Thursday night released Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters. Premium Times reported that Mr Sowore was arrested on August 3 for planning a series of protests to demand good governance. Mr Sowore first met his bail on November 6, one month ago, but he was not released. A federal judge, on Thursday morning, gave 24 hours for Mr Sowore to be released. Mr Sowore’s lawyer, Femi Falana, while confirming the development to PREMIUM TIMES, said the SSS also paid N100,000 fine to Mr Sowore as ordered by the judge. Details shortly…
Court sentences Senate Chief Whip, Orji Kalu, to 12 years’ in prison over N7.1bn fraud
The Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted a former governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, who was charged with N7.1bn fraud. The court found him and his co-defendants guilty of the entire 39 counts filed against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Justice Mohammed Idris sentenced Kalu to 12 years’ imprisonment while he ordered the winding up of Kalu’s company, Slok Nigeria Limited, charged as third defendant in the case. Credit: The Punch
Release Sowore, Bakare within 24 hours, court tells DSS
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday gave the Department of State Service 24 hours ultimatum to release the Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, and his co-defendant, Olawale Bakare. Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu gave the order at the scheduled commencement of the defendants’ trial on charges of treasonable felony. The judge noted after she signed the warrants for the release of the defendants from custody, and same was served on the defendants, the DSS had no justifiable reason to continue to hold them in custody. The prosecuting counsel, Hassan Liman (SAN), had insisted that the DSS had not obeyed the
Court of Appeal sacks House Leader, Alhassan Doguwa
The Court of Appeal sitting in Kaduna on Monday sacked a member representing Tudunwada/Doguwa Federal Constituency, Alhassan Ado Doguwa. Mr Doguwa, who is the Majority Leader of the House, is the third ranking member of the House after Speaker and Deputy Speaker. Recall that on September 5, the election petition tribunal sitting in Kano dismissed a petition filed by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Yusha’u Salisu, against Mr Doguwa’s election. The tribunal said the PDP candidate failed to prove allegations of irregularities and over-voting in the election. But in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Oludotun Adefope-Okojie,
