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Arrest of Judges not unconstitutional — Buhari’s aide
NAN-H-23
Judges
By Dianabasi Effiong
Ugep (Cross River), Oct 11, 2016 (NAN) Special Assistant to the President on Prosecution, Mr Obono Obla, says there is nothing unconstitutional about the arrest of some judges by the Directorate of State Security (DSS).
Obla, who spoke with journalists in Ugep, Cross River, said that for the first time in the history of Nigeria, Supreme Court Justices were arrested for corruption.
“It is unprecedented in Africa for senior judges to be arrested for corruption and you say we are not fighting corruption.
“Judges are partly responsible and the corrupt lawyers are partly responsible because they block, they fight, and they stall judicial process.
“Also, the Nigerian big man does not want the rule of law to reign in this country.
“They think we should have two standards of justice but we insist that the rule of law must prevail for all,’’ the presidential aide said.
He urged the Nigerian “big man’’ to change his mentality and subject himself to the rule of law.
“When he is being asked to render account of his stewardship, he should do so. He should not bring lawyers to come and stall processes and progress.
“And some corrupt judges pander to these lawyers because money has passed under the table.
“We need fearless judges, knowledgeable judges, incorruptible judges and God-fearing judges.
“And we also need the cooperation of all the institutions involved in the administration of criminal justice to fight corruption in the system,’’ Obla said.
He said that the present administration’s anti-corruption war had ensured that public officials no longer had access to slush funds.
“So, the reality now is that because of the downfall in the price of oil and the anti-corruption fight, public officials no longer have access to slush funds,’’ he said.
According to the presidential aide, there is a linkage between fighting corruption and economic prosperity.
“If corruption is not addressed, there will be no economic growth. Investors will not come into the country, and there will be a lot of leakages in the economy,’’ he said.
Obla noted that the fight against corruption enabled the federal government to discover leakages in the wage bill of the armed forces.
“Corruption fight is not just about prosecution but about blocking the leakages through which monies are being siphoned out of the system,’’ he said.
The presidential aide also said his office has developed a Strategic Plan on Prosecution for 2016 to 2019.
These, he said, included the publication of a new National Guidelines on Prosecution, Code of Conduct for Prosecution, National Policy on Prosecution and Manual for Plea Bargaining.
“We are going to establish an Administration of Justice Monitoring Committee pursuant to Section 407 of the Administration of Justice Act 2015.
“All these are aimed at reducing congestion, ensuring that convictions are secured and that criminal cases are speedily dealt with.
“A bill is now before the National Assembly for a special criminal court that will address squarely the issue of delay in criminal trial.
“Before, there was no will to prosecute, but we now have the will to prosecute,’’ he said.
He added that his office had put in place a national prosecution coordinating committee to complement efforts of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions. (NAN)
DOE/WOJ
(Edited and controlled by Wale Ojetimi)

Apo six: court adjourns again till Nov. 15 for adoption of addresses

NAN-H-48
Adjournment
By Edith Nwapi
Abuja, Oct. 11, 2016 (NAN) An FCT High Court on Tuesday adjourned again the alleged extra-judicial killing of six Apo trader till Nov. 15 for adoption of final written addresses.

The the Attorney-General of the Federation had in 2005 arraigned policemen on a 9-count of conspiracy and culpable homicide contrary to sections 97 and 221 (a) of the Penal Code.

The Police officers were; Danjuma Ibrahim, Othman Abdulsalami , Nicholas Zakaria, Ezekiel Acheneje, Baba Emmanuel and Sadiq Salami.

They allegedly killed; Ifeanyi Ozor, Chinedu Meniru, Isaac Ekene, Paulinus Ogbonna, Anthony Nwodike and and a woman Augustina Arebun.

The judge, Justice Ishaq Bello, granted the adjournment at the instance of the prosecuting counsel, Mr Chris Uche (SAN), who informed the court of a communication breakdown within the team.

At the resumed hearing, Uche had applied for an adjournment citing a disconnection in the communication within the prosecution team as his reason

Uche also prayed for 21 days to file and reply the defence written addresses.

Mr Ricky Tarfa (SAN), counsel to the first respondent, did not oppose the application, but asked that the time be abridged. Mr Mohammed Tola, counsel to the third defendant aligned with Tarfa.

But, Mr Anthony Agbonlahor, Counsel to the fifth defendant, opposed the application on the ground that the reason Uche gave was not cogent enough.

Agbonlahor said that these defendants had been in detention for a very long time already, that the prosecution had an ample time to have done all that was necessary since the last sitting on June 29.

At the last sitting, Tarfa had prayed the court for an extension of time to file and serve their final written addresses out of time.

Tarfa also prayed for 21 days for defence to file their written addresses.

The Prosecuting counsel, Mr Mamman Osuman (SAN), did not oppose the application but prayed the court for 21 days to  file composite reply to the defence written addresses.

Osuman also prayed for an adjournment to enable them file such reply.

Bello granted their applications as prayed. (NAN)
NEO/OFN
Edited by Felix Nwadioha

NAN-H-46
Beating
By Deborah Akpede
Lagos, Oct. 11, 2016 (NAN) An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court in Lagos on Tuesday struck out a case of alleged husband battery preferred against a 38-year-old trader, Fausat Salaudeen.

At the resumed hearing, the prosecutor, Insp George Nwosu, informed the court of the complainant’s decision to withdraw the charge against the accused.

The magistrate, Mr A. A. Adesanya, who ruled on the application for the withdrawal, struck out the case.

“This follows the application filed by the complainant notifying the court of his intention to withdraw the charge,” Adesanya said.

The accused, a resident of Agege area of Lagos, was being tried for breach of peace and assault.

Nwosu had told the court that the accused committed the offences on Sept. 4 at her residence.

He said that the accused assaulted her husband, one Mustapha Salaudeen, by beating and tearing his clothes into pieces.

Nwosu said that the accused had been assaulting the complainant from the inception of their marriage, adding that she was always in the police station over such issues.

” The accused always fight the complainant on any trivial issue. Anytime they had disagreement, the accused is always the first to hit him.

“The complainant had on many occasions requested her arrest by the police for assaulting him.

“But when the police were tired of the case, they transferred it to welfare but the accused still refused to change,” he said.

The prosecutor said that on the fateful day, the complainant ordered the accused not to cook inside the room but she disobeyed his order.

“The complainant told the accused not to cook inside the room but she ignored him and started cooking.

“As the complainant carried the stove to take it to the kitchen, the accused dragged him back and descended on him by beating him and tearing his clothes,” he said.

The accused, who pleaded not guilty to the charge, was granted N20,000 bail with one surety in like sum.

The offences, Nwosu said, contravened Sections 166 and 170 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

Section 170 stipulates one year imprisonment. (NAN)
DOA/ORO/OJO
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(Edited by Razak Owolabi and Mufutau Ojo)

Merkel says Africa to be priority for German G20 presidency

NAN-F-18
Priority
Addis Ababa, Oct. 11, 2016 (Reuters/NAN) German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on a trip to Ethiopia, said she would make Africa a priority for Germany’s G20 presidency in 2017 and outlined plans for a conference in Berlin.

The German leader was on the last leg of a three day trip which has also included stops in Mali and Niger.

She traveled to seek investment opportunities which she hopes will help drive economic growth and curb future migration to Europe.

Earlier Merkel told Ethiopia to open up its politics and ensure police do not use heavy-handed tactics against protesters, after more than a year of unrest that rights groups said has led to about 500 deaths.

In a speech to the AU, Merkel said that Berlin would host a high-profile conference on Africa in mid 2017.

“We want to strengthen private investment to create sustainable growth and jobs.

“It was important to expand infrastructure on the continent and improve professional training,” she said.

Participants in the conference would include industry representatives and international organisations, she said, urging companies to engage in Africa.

“There are already many German companies active in Africa but there could be more,” she said, adding that sometimes other countries offered deals for infrastructure projects that were linked to financial packages.

Germany would have to change if German firms wanted to be successful, she said, adding that in some other countries the state and economy were more closely linked.  (Reuters/NAN)

(Edited by Damilola Oyewole/ Julius Enehkhuere)

NDE advocates use of Procurement Act for job creation

NAN-HE-16

NDE

By Yakubu Uba

Yola, 11, 2016 (NAN) The Director-General of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Mr Kunle Obayan, has advocated the use of the Public Procurement Act to create job for the unemployed.

Obayan made the call on Tuesday in Yola while addressing participants at a three-day workshop organised for procurement and other relevant officers of the directorate.

Obayan, who was represented by the Director, Finance and Accounts of the directorate, Alhaji Umar Ibrahim, said   the measure could be achieved through the insertion of relevant clauses in the Act.

He said that the clauses would require stating the number of jobs to be created in procurement proposals, especially those involving works and services.

“In this way, every procuring entity would serve as a window for creating jobs on an annual basis or as budgets are being implemented,” Obayan said.

Obayan said that the theme of the workshop, “Efficient Procurement: A tool for transparency and Accountability,” was based on the recognition that public procurement played a crucial role in economic development of every nation.

The Director, Procurement of NDE, Mr Abubakar Fikpo, said the workshop was timely due to the current economic recession which required prudent management of resources.

“Our economy has gone into recession. We are faced with the task of recovery and prudence in our expenditure or financial transactions.

“Thus, this workshop would not have come at a better time than now when we need to be more knowledgeable and enlightened economically to avoid other corrupt practices if we have to revive the economy to the state we desire.”

The Speaker of Adamawa House of Assembly lauded NDE for its role in job creation and urged participants to pay attention and to apply the knowledge “in discharging their responsibilities to advance the values of probity.”

The Adamawa State Coordinator of NDE, Mallam Isma’ila Yar’adua, lauded the support of the directorate in providing needed support to the state office to execute its tasks of job creation.

Yar’adua listed the on going training of 360 unemployed youths and the provision of resettlement items to 50 graduates of Basic National Open Apprenticeship Scheme (NOAS) as some of the empowerment programmes provided within the year. (NAN)
YMU/IA

(Edited by Idris Abdulrahman)

NAN-H-20
Fraud
By Deborah Akpede
Lagos, Oct. 11, 2016 (NAN) For allegedly issuing a dud cheque of N1,107,87, a 40-year-old ICT administrator, Banjo Olufemi, on Tuesday appeared before an Ikeja Magistrates’ in Lagos.

Olufemi, a resident of Iju, Lagos, was charged with fraud.

The prosecutor, Insp. George Nwosu, told the court that the accused committed the offence on July 28 at Lagooz Investment Ltd., Agege, Lagos.

He said that the accused transacted a business with the company to the tune of N1,107,87 and issued a dud cheque to the company.

“The accused approached the company to obtain a loan of N753,000 and promised to pay back with interest.

“The loan, with the accumulated interest, is N1,107,87; the accused issued a cheque of N1,107,87 of Guaranty Trust Bank(GTB).

“When the cheque was presented, it was dishonored due to insufficient fund,” he said.

Nwosu said that the offence contravened Section 312 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Section 312 provides for 15 years imprisonment on conviction for fraud.

The accused, however, pleaded innocence of the offence, and was granted bail in the sum of N250,000 with one surety in like sum.

The Magistrate, Mr A.A Adesanya, adjourned the case to Nov. 28 for mention. (NAN)
DOA/IGO

NAN-H-21
Defecation
By Monday Ajogun
Benin, Oct. 11, 2016 (NAN) A melodrama occurred  on Tuesday at an Oredo Magistrates’ Court in Benin, when an 18-year-old man, Abudullahi Muhammed, defecated on his body to evade arraignment.

Muhammed defecated on his body when he case was to be mentioned.

After defecating, he put on his trousers back and took to his heels. This led to a rowdiness in the court.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Investigative Police Officer, Sgt. Aigbochie Iruonagbe, had to call for more policemen to assist him to apprehend Muhammed.

The policemen arrested Muhammed and gave him bags of sachet water to bathe before he was arraigned.

During arraignment, the prosecutor, Insp. Thomas Ojo, told the court that the accused stole four cartoons of powdered milk, from Mrs Favour Nwachukwu.

Ojo said that the accused committed the offence on Oct. 8 at Mission Road, Benin.

The accused pleaded guilty to the one-count charge.

The Magistrate, Mrs J.O. Ejale, adjourned the case till Oct. 14 for presentation of facts of the case and sentencing. (NAN)

AJOM/DEB/IGO
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(Edited by Debo Oshundun/jeoma Popoola)

NAN-H-41
Defilement
By Deborah Akpede
Lagos, Oct. 11, 2016 (NAN) An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday admitted a 19-year-old secondary school student, Samuel Abah, to bail in the sum of N250,000 for allegedly defiling a six-year-old girl.

The Magistrate, Mr A. T Elias, who granted the accused bail after he pleaded not guilty to a rape charge, ordered that the accused should produce two sureties in the like sum.

Elias adjourned the case till Nov.2, for mention.

Abah, a resident of Ogba in Ikeja Area of Lagos is being tried for defilement of a minor.

The Prosecutor, Sgt. Rapheal Donny, told the court that the accused committed the offence on Sept. 29 at his residence.

Donny said that the accused unlawfully had carnal knowledge of a six-year-old girl by forcefully penetrated with his sex organ through the victim’s  vaginal.

He said that when the accused discovered that the victim’s parent had gone out, he called the victim into his room and defiled her.

“The accused that leave in the same compound with the victim parents called her into his room, naked her and inserted his penis into her vaginal.
“As a result of the large size of his sex organ and forceful penetration, the victim sustained injuries in her private part.

“The victim was rushed to the General Hospital where medical report showed that there was forceful penetration through her vaginal.

“The victim told her parents that it was the accused that inserted his sex organ into her vaginal,’’ he said.

He said that the girl had been sick since the incident and the offence contravened Section 259 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011, which on conviction attracts life imprisonment. (NAN)
DOA/DEB/OFN
(Edited by Debo Oshundun// Felix Nwadioha)

Malaria: NGO tasks Kaduna Govt on fumigation

NAN-HG-8
Prevention
By Mohammed Lawal
Zaria (Kaduna State), Oct. 11, 2016 (NAN) The Northern Emancipation Network (NEN), an NGO, has urged Kaduna State Government to reintroduce fumigation in its cities and towns to effectively reduce frequent deaths from malaria scourge.

The National President of NEN, Alhaji Abdul-Aziz Suleiman, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Zaria that this had become imperative in view of rising cases of deaths from malaria fever.

Suleiman said that the reintroduction of fumigation would also reduce the number of deaths caused by communicable diseases.

“It will also improve the health status of citizens as well as reduce government’s expenditure on supply of drugs to hospitals and clinics,’’ the president of NEN said.

While describing the rate of the epidemic as alarming, he identified pregnant women and children under five as the worse hit.

He noted that whenever there was an outbreak of the disease, many families were usually affected, with children under five and pregnant women being the worse hit.

“As a citizen of Kaduna State, I feel it is time to bring this issue to the fore. We will not tolerate a situation where people continually die in silence, only for government to act as if nothing is happening,” Suleiman said.

According to him, many states are reintroducing fumigation of their surroundings in order to protect the health of its citizens.

The NEN president advised residents to imbibe the habit of sleeping under mosquito nets to prevent malaria.

Besides, he appealed to government at all levels to step-up efforts at fulfilling their campaign promises to reduce the current hardship facing Nigerians.

Suleiman noted that that it was based on electoral promises people of Kaduna state voted for Gov. Nasiru El-Rufa’i to serve them. (NAN)
KLM/YMU/MST

Edited by Yakubu Uba/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

NAN-H-15
Trafficking
By Sandra Umeh
Lagos, Oct. 11, 2016 (NAN) A Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday sentenced a 25-year-old shoe mender, Mohammed Ibrahim, to one year imprisonment for dealing in 500g of marijuana.

Ibrahim had pleaded guilty to a count charge, on arraignment by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

He pleaded for leniency, claiming that he was a first offender and would turn a new leaf.

The prosecutor, Mr Jeremiah Aernan, on Tuesday tendered for evidence, a written statement of Ibrahim, a request for scientific aid form, a drug analysis form and the narcotic.

Justice Ibrahim Buba admitted them as exhibits, found Ibrahim guilty as charged and convicted him.

“The accused did not waste the time of the court, and is hereby sentenced to one year imprisonment to begin from the date of his arrest,” he held.

He ordered that the drug should be destroyed if no appeal would subsist against the judgment.

The NDLEA had said that Ibrahim committed the offence on April 15 at Ajao Estate, Isolo, Lagos,
in contravention of Section 11 (c) of the NDLEA Act, 2004. (NAN)
UNS/ENN/IGO
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(Edited by Edwin Nwachukwu and controlled by Ijeoma Popoola)