US President Donald Trump has said that his administration would appeal a federal judge’s ruling on Thursday that temporarily blocks his attempt to restrict birthright citizenship.
Obviously we will appeal it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about the ruling by Washington state District Judge John Coughenour, who said the president’s order was “blatantly
Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has lodged his appeal against his doping ban.
Pogba was hit with a four-year suspension earlier this year after testing positive for testosterone last season.
After several months of planning with his legal team, Pogba was in Switzerland this week to lodge his appeal.
La Gazzetta dello Sport says the Frenchman appeared before the Swiss courts in Lausanne, where he filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration in Sport (CAS).
The former Manchester United ace gave his version of the facts concerning his doping case.
The 31-year-old midfielder, who defended and explained himself, will now wait to be informed of the ruling.
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The Court of Appeal sitting in Awka on Wednesday reserved ruling on the appeal filed by Sen. Victor Umeh of the Labour Party against his candidacy in the February election for Anambra Central Senatorial District.
Justice Olubunmi Oyewole, the presiding Judge of the panel, announced this after counsel to the appellant and respondents adopted their written arguments.
Oyewole said that the court would communicate the date for the judgment to the parties after going through their written addresses.
Chief Alex Ejesieme SAN, LP counsel, who relied on his written appeal dated Feb. 7, prayed the court to uphold the appeal and set aside the judgement of the trial court for lack of locus.
Ejesieme cited a number of Judgements on related matters including that of Justice Kolawole of the Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt on Suit. No. CA/PH 480/2022 delivered on Nov. 29 on the case between PDP vs INEC and 11 others.
He described the trial court judgment as “rather unfortunate“ in the light of the numerous decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court on the subject matter.
He also prayed the court to dismiss the preliminary objection filed by the respondents, saying it was ill conceived.
Adopting his written argument, B.E.I Nwofor SAN, counsel to Ekwunife and the PDP prayed the Court to dismiss the appeal and sustain the judgement of the trial Court.
The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, has upheld the appeal of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and dismissed the ruling of a Federal High Court in Lagos in the case involving a former Executive Director, Projects, Niger Delta Development Commission, Tuoyo Omatsuli.
However, a three-man panel, led by Justice Peter Affem, on Wednesday, discharged Omatsuli on counts 27, 28, and 29 of the charge.
Omatsuli is facing prosecution alongside Francis Momoh, Don Parker Properties Limited, and Building Associates Limited on an amended 45-count charge bordering on conspiracy and money laundering to the tune of N3.6 billion.
The judgment delivered by Justice Festus Ogbuinya held that the ruling of the Lower Court dated November 11, 2020, discharging the respondent of the money laundering charges “is hereby set aside, and he shall enter into his defense accordingly on the same counts.”
The defendants had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In the trial, the prosecuting counsel, Ekene Iheanacho, called 16 prosecution witnesses, the last being Segun Temitope, a staff member of the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering, who gave his testimony on July 7, 2020.
However, rather than open their defense, the defendants filed a no-case submission, which was heard on October 12, 2020, while the ruling was reserved till November 11, 2020.
In his ruling on November 11, 2020, Justice Saliu Saidu had discharged Omatsuli, saying, “I have gone through the charges preferred against the defendants as well as the evidence of all the 16 prosecution witnesses and I found no reason for the first defendant to enter the defence. Accordingly, the first defendant is hereby discharged.”
The Judge, however, held that the other defendants had a case to answer, but the EFCC appealed the ruling of the lower Court.
The EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, said in a statement that “the Appellate Court, also today, dismissed the applications of Momoh and Building Associates Limited seeking to set aside the ruling of the lower Court on their no-case submission.
“The appellate court, in its ruling, however, affirmed the ruling of the lower court on the no-case submission filed by both Momoh and Building Associates on the grounds their appeal “is bereft of merit” and ordered them to enter their defence, accordingly.”
Suspended National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus, has vowed to appeal the ruling of the Court of Appeal allowing the party’s convention to proceed today (Saturday).
Delivering the ruling on behalf of two other justices, Justice Gabriel Kolawole held that the attempt by the applicant, Uche Secondus, to suspend the planned convention is an act of “self-induced urgency” to disrupt an ongoing lawful process of the party.
But the embattled National Chairman, in a statement he released shortly after the judgement on Friday said he disagrees with the Court’s conclusions.
“I have just been briefed of the ruling of the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt dismissing my motion to halt the National Convention of the party,” he said. “I respect the position of the court even though I disagree totally with it.
“Even as the substantive case is still pending at the Court of Appeal I have instructed my lawyers to study the ruling with a view to appealing it immediately as no abuse of the constitution of our dear party should be allowed to stand.
“The issue is not about Prince Uche Secondus but about the sanctity of our party constitution and core democratic principles of justice and rule of law not only in PDP but in our democracy. No impunity must be condoned.
“I will therefore wish to emphasis the fact that I did not take the party to court and would not have done that. As a foundation member of this party who has served at various levels, State Chairman, Chairman of state Chairmen, National Organizing Secretary, Deputy National Chairman, Acting National Chairman and now National Chairman, am very much abreast with the workings of the party. I have been a witness to how much harm litigations have done to our party in the past and as a result I have been a strong advocate against settling issues in courts.
“This was why I resisted and rejected entreaties of those who wanted me to go to court to halt these forces when it was obvious that they were determined to disrupt my leadership and truncate my tenure in office with the sole objective of hijacking the party for their selfish ulterior motives.
“To allow this travesty to stand is to reduce our beloved party to a level where anybody can wake up over night and remove officers against the proscribed constitutional process and the National Chairman for that matter. And purporting to use the judiciary through an experte order to legitimize same.
“As a major practitioner in our democracy, I am duty bound to protect and defend the sanctity of the provisions of our constitution of which am the custodian.
“I wish to therefore at this juncture thank and appreciate leaders and other stakeholders of our party who have called in to express their concerns on this matter and appeal for the understanding of all.
“If those who orchestrated and fostered this avoidable crisis had listened to wise counsel of party leaders and elders who advised the withdrawal of cases, this situation would have been avoidable. I wish the party well as always.”
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has appealed his conviction for the murder of George Floyd, citing 14 complaints about his high-profile trial earlier this year in a case that roiled the United States and laid bare deep racial divisions.
The killing of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, in May 2020 went viral after being caught on camera and sparked America’s biggest demonstrations for racial justice in decades.
Chauvin, who in June was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison for killing Floyd by kneeling on his neck for nearly 10 minutes, appealed the conviction Thursday night with a Minnesota district court, on the last day he was able to do so.
He accuses the state of prejudicial misconduct and lists multiple issues with the jury selected for the trial, among other objections.
The former police officer accuses the court of “abusing its discretion” by denying requests to postpone or move the trial and refusing to sequester the jury for its duration.
Chauvin, a 45-year-old white man, was filmed kneeling on Floyd’s neck, indifferent to the dying man’s groans and to the pleas of distraught passers-by.
Floyd repeatedly said “I can’t breathe” before he died.
The scene, filmed and uploaded by a young woman, quickly spread around the world.
Hundreds of thousands of people subsequently poured onto streets across the country and overseas to demand an end to racism and police brutality.
The ex-cop and three of his colleagues arrested Floyd on suspicion of having passed a fake $20 bill in a store in Minneapolis, a northern city of around 400,000 people.
They handcuffed him and pinned him to the ground in the street.
In the filed documents, Chauvin said he has no income and no legal representation in the appeals process. A defense fund that paid for his representation during the trial was terminated after his sentencing.
The sacked police officer, who was present for the full six weeks of his trial, did not testify, invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
His lawyer said he had followed police procedures in force at the time and that Floyd’s death was due to health problems exacerbated by drug use.
But, at the end of the high-profile trial in April, a jury took less than 10 hours to convict Chauvin of Floyd’s murder.
He was found guilty on all three charges — second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
The other three police officers are to face state charges next year for their roles in Floyd’s death.
Chauvin’s conviction was greeted with relief across the country.
Many had feared an acquittal would lead to worse unrest, while others worried that once again a white police officer would get away with what they saw as murder.
The Floyd family’s lawyer called the sentencing a “historic” step towards racial reconciliation in the United States.
Chauvin had a record of using excessive force before the unarmed Floyd died under his knee.
At the end of the trial, Chauvin offered his condolences to the Floyd family and said: “There’s going to be some other information in the future that would be of interest and I hope things will give you some peace of mind,” without elaborating
The Lagos State Government on Friday applied to be joined as a co-respondent in the appeal filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) against the judgement of the Rivers State High Court, which declared that the Rivers State Government had the right to collect Value-Added Tax (VAT) and Personal Income Tax in the state, and not the Federal Inland Revenue Services.
Attorney-General of the state, Moyesore Onigbanjo, made the request at the Court of Appeal in Abuja on behalf of the state government.
Onigbanjo told the court that the state’s interest was at stake, stressing that if they aren’t joined in the matter, it would amount to a breach of fair hearing.
He urged the court to take the application for the joinder first before the FIRS’ application for a Stay of Execution of the judgement of the Rivers State High Court.
The Counsel to the FIRS, Mahmud Magaji SAN, however, urged the court to hear the main application (stay of execution request) first, as that was of utmost priority.
Subsequently, the head of the three-man panel, Justice Haruna Tsammani, stepped down the matter for ruling.
A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt had on September 6 dismissed an application by the FIRS, seeking to stop the Rivers State government from enforcing the Rivers State High Court judgement vesting the power to collect Value Added Tax, VAT, within Rivers State on the state government and not FIRS.
The FIRS had, through a motion on notice, applied for a stay of execution on the earlier judgement delivered by Justice Stephen Pam, affirming the constitutional role of the state governments to collect VAT and not FIRS.
The Edo State Government has cleared the air over what it described as the “purported compulsory vaccination” of its residents with the COVID-19 vaccine.
In a statement signed on Wednesday, Governor Godwin Obaseki said it was an “obvious misconception” that the directive issued by the government was to make vaccination compulsory for all citizens.
Governor Obaseki had given residents up to the second week of September to get a vaccine or risk being barred from public places such as banks, receptions, churches and mosques.
But in Wednesday’s statement, the governor said the order which was given last Friday was, at best, speculative and pre-emptive as the scheduled date for the commencement of the enforcement of the directive by the state government is the second week of September.
He said this in reaction to an order by a High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, directing the Government to maintain the status quo on the purported compulsory vaccination.
Governor Obaseki said: “Although the State Governor, in truth, has the power to make such an order under the Gazetted Quarantine Regulations, this directive is actually only a denial of access to public places of persons who chose not to be vaccinated.
“We believe government’s overriding concern is the safety and health of its citizens”.
The government’s intervention comes as Nigeria experiences a fresh spike in infections, and Edo becomes one of the top affected states.
The governor said Edo State is currently confronted with a situation wherein the Case Positivity Rate (CPR) for COVID-19 hovers between 15 and 25 per cent.
According to him, unvaccinated persons have accounted for 100 per cent of deaths in the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.
“Government, therefore, finds it strange that some persons in purported pursuit of their fundamental human rights would embark on litigation tourism outside of our state, seek to become a source of public health danger and put at risk the safety and health of the larger population,” the statement read in part.
“Government owes a sacred duty to the populace to take all actions necessary to protect the health of the majority of the citizens and in this connection, an even greater quantity of vaccines is being secured for the use of the people of Edo State.
“The Edo State Government has, therefore, instructed its lawyers to vigorously pursue and challenge all such orders in the courts from where they emanate and if necessary, at the appellate level, while affirming its position as a law-abiding government.
“It must be made clear that Government shall continue to pursue all legal and administrative options available for the protection of the best interest of the good people of Edo State”.
The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal filed by a former Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Andrew Yakubu, against the order of a Federal High Court in Kano that he would forfeit the $9.7 million and £74,000 allegedly found in his Kaduna house to the Federal Government.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is currently prosecuting Yakubu before a Federal High Court in Abuja for the recovered money.
Yakubu had appealed the decision of the Court of Appeal in Kaduna, which upheld the forfeiture order made by the Federal High Court in Kano.
At the mention of the appeal on Thursday, his lawyer, Ahmad Raji (SAN), told the court that he filed a notice to discontinue on July 14, 2021.
Raji hinged his decision to withdraw the appeal on the fact that his client has another pending appeal before the Supreme Court, which challenges the propriety of Yakubu’s trial.
Lawyer to the EFCC, Muhammed Abubakar, did not object to the decision by the appellant’s counsel to withdraw the appeal, but sought an order of dismissal.
Ruling, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court, presided over by Justice Mary Peter-Odili, upheld the application by EFCC’s lawyer for the dismissal of the appeal for lack of diligent prosecution, and dismiss the appeal.