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Tag: Appeal Court

  • JUST IN: All pending election petition cases transferred to Abuja, Lagos

    JUST IN: All pending election petition cases transferred to Abuja, Lagos

    President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem has transferred all election petition cases pending before the court in the 36 States of the Federation to the Abuja and Lagos divisions of the appellate court.

    All appellate cases arising from the judgement of the various election petition tribunals in the 36 States of the country would be heard and determined in Abuja and Lagos divisions of the Appeal Court.

    By this action of Dongban-Mensem, only two of the 20 divisions of the court would determine all appellate cases arising from the judgements of the elections petition tribunals throughout the country.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the transfer affects gubernatorial, national and state assemblies elections.

    It was gathered Dongban-Mensem acted in response to an avalanche of petitions and protests by political parties and their candidates, who allege that the judges of the tribunals were heavily compromised by the governors during the trial stage in their respective States.

    Dongban-Mensem was reported to have launched discreet enquiries into the allegations against the governors and the judges of the trial tribunal.

    The enquiries established the veracity of the allegations to the extent that an unholy alliance was established between some governors and judges of the tribunals, which led to perversion of justice at the trial level.

    Some judges of the tribunals were reportedly indicted and might face trial by the National Judicial Council (NJC).

    Meanwhile, Hon. Thomas Ereyitomi has welcomed the decision to transfer all election petition cases to the Abuja and Lagos, but lamented its financial implications.

    “We have the notice transferring the cases from Delta State to Lagos and we have complied. Its financial implications are huge but no sacrifice is too much to get a fair and impartial judgement,” Ereyitomi said.

  • Kano: Governor Yusuf hires Tinubu’s lawyer to contest tribunal judgment

    Kano: Governor Yusuf hires Tinubu’s lawyer to contest tribunal judgment

    Abba Kabir Yusuf, Kano State governor,  has hired renowned legal practitioner, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) to lead the charge to regain his mandate at the Court of Appeal.

    It was gathered that Yusuf filed a 42-ground of appeal before the appellate court asking the court to set aside the judgment of the tribunal and also striking out the petition of the APC.

    Governor Yusuf dissatisfied with the tribunal judgment presented a 40 grounds for the Appeal Court to set aside the judgment.

    Ground 18 among the grounds reads: “the tribunal erred in law when it relied on Section 71 and 63 of the Electoral Act, 2022 to nullify the ballot papers by which a total of 165,616 votes were deducted from the votes of Appellant’s candidate thereby reducing the lawful votes of the Appellant’s votes of 1,019,602 and thereby wrongly declaring petitioner’s candidate as the winner of the election, whereby the petitioner’s right to fair hearing is denied”.

    In a copy of the notice of appeal, Olanipekun, who led the legal team of President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT), is now the counsel for the Kano state governor.
    Also on the legal team of the governor is: Bode Olanipekun (SAN), Ibrahim G. Waru and Akintola Makinde, with Wole Olanipekun & Co as the legal firm handling the appeal, while Chief E.O.B. Offiong (APC) remains the counsel for the APC.
  • Don’t blame judges for delays in justice dispensation, says Appeal Court Judge

    Don’t blame judges for delays in justice dispensation, says Appeal Court Judge

    Hajiya Binta Zubairu, Justice of the Court of Appeal (JCA) on Sunday in Zaria said judges are not the cause of delay in the dispensation of justice as erroneously believed by some Nigerians.

    Zubairu made this known on the sidelines of a reception organised in her honour in Zaria on recent elevation as a Justice of the Court.

    Judges are being wrongly accused of delay in dispensing justice by the public.

    “Judges work as a team with the prosecution, lawyers and others. Speedy dispensation of justice requires the prompt efforts of the police, prosecution, assembling of exhibits by lawyers and presenting them correctly before the judges in court in accordance with the laws.

    “Most times  the judges or magistrates are ready to adjudicate but the prosecution would not be ready or the lawyers will come with one excuse or the other.

    “These are facts that are glaring in Courts but because we the judges can’t voice out their frustration, all the blames are shifted and heaped on us, ” she said.

    She said most times it takes the police longer than usual to conclude investigation in a simple case.

    Zubairu commended the  Zazzau emirate for identifying and rejoicing with her over her promotion and appointment.

    According to her, her elevation to the court of appeal is for the joy of the entire Zazzau Emirate and humanity.

    She expressed gratitude to the Almighty God for making her the first female in the Zazzau Emirate to be elevated to the rank of Justice of the Court of Appeal.

    “As a child, it was not my wish to be a magistrate or a judge. I wanted was be a principal of a school.

    “I wanted to be a principal because as a kid I desired to see that all children go to school to be educated.

    “I have not in my wildest imagination, thought I will be a judge but destiny took me to the judiciary,’’ she said.

    Earlier, the Emir of Zazzau, Malam Ahmad Bamalli said “the emirate was proud of justice Zubairu’s as the first female from the emirate to attain that height in the judiciary.

    The emir enjoined the celebrant to be good ambassador of the emirate by exhibiting high sense of honesty and professionalism in her endeavour.

    Also speaking, the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force Committee on prison decongestion and former FCT Chief Judge, Justice Ishaq Bello urged young judges to imbibe the culture of hard-work and dedication to enable them excel.

    Bello while congratulating Justice  Zubairu, advised her to follow the ethics of the profession for effective delivery.

    NAN

  • See full list of newly sworn in Justices of Appeal Court

    See full list of newly sworn in Justices of Appeal Court

    The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kayode Ariwoola on Wednesday swore in nine Justices of the Court of Appeal.

    Ariwoola while administering the oath of office to the new judges, said: ”the level of public scrutiny of your conduct will, henceforth, assume astronomical dimension because you have willingly taken up appointment that will strategically place you perennially in the eye of the storm.

    “The tempo and rate of public assessment of your conduct and disposition have also instantaneously assumed unprecedented spike from this moment.

    “You must redouble your effort and dialogue properly with your conscience in order not to fall out of the grace of the Almighty God and the Nigerian people who are curiously looking up to you.

    “It takes nothing to join the crowd but it takes a lot to stand alone with good conscience’’, he admonished.

    He said that the ceremony was an indication of the times that we are currently in as several novel crimes are being committed in the country that have now made litigations to go on a steady rise.

    “Political cases, especially, are taking a monumental toll on our dockets, indeed, the times we are in are not pleasant, to say the least.

    “No court in the land is spared of this. We are constantly on our toes and the dockets are ever rising in response to the challenges of the time.

    “This underscores the undisputed fact that Nigeria continuously ranks among the most litigious countries in the world.

    “I strongly believe it is high time we began to imbibe the culture of less litigation and more of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms: so that our courts can be freed of unnecessary burden and depletion of both human and material resources’’.

    He said the onus squarely rests on the Lordships to fasten their belt and roll up their sleeves to face the challenges head-on.

    The CJN charged them to redouble their pace to catch up with the expectations of the litigants.

    “As judicial officers, you have a divine mandate on earth that you must discharge with unveiled honesty and sincerity.

    “You must give good account of yourselves to justify your elevation to the court of appeal so that you can subsequently earn an elevation to the supreme court to further actualize your dreams.

    “Many high-profile cases would definitely come to you on appeal; and they may likely come in some juicy and irresistible gifts that are often intended to dent your reputation and integrity.

    “I urge Your Lordships to flee from such disguised temptations because your reputation and integrity matter much and count enormously in your rise to honour and fame in life.

    The new appellate court Justices are: Hannatu Azumi Laja-Balogun from Kaduna State, who was appointed a High Court Judge on May 24, 1999; Binta Fatima Zubairu from Kaduna State, appointed a High Court Judge on Oct.  31, 2001.

    Others are Peter Obiora from Anambra, who was sworn-in as High Court Judge on Jan. 17, 2005, Justices Okon Abang from Akwa Ibom , who was appointed a High Court Judge on June 22, 2009.

    Others are Asma’u Musa Mainoma from the Federal Capital Territory, appointed High Court Judge on February 1, 2013; Lateef Adebayo Ganiyu from Oyo State, who became High Court Judge on June 26, 2014; and Jane Esienanwan Iyang from Cross River State, who was sworn-in as High Court Judge on February 12, 2015.

    The rest are Hadiza Rabiu Shagari from Sokoto State, who was elevated to the High Court Bench on February 12, 2015; and Paul Ahmed Bassi from Borno State, appointed to the High Court on July 14, 2017.

  • 2.1bn fraud: Appeal Court upholds Maina’s conviction

    2.1bn fraud: Appeal Court upholds Maina’s conviction

    The Court of Appeal on Friday in Abuja upheld the judgment of Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court which sentenced Abdulrasheed Maina to eight years imprisonment.

    Maina, who was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), was sentenced following his conviction for laundering pension funds to the tune of N2.1 billion.

    Delivering judgment on behalf of the three-member panel, Justice Elfreda Daudu-Williams held that an opportunity was given to Maina to defend himself which he failed to use.

    “There was no denial of fair hearing as opportunity was given to the appellant to defend himself by the lower court.

    “Given the foregoing, it behooves on the appellant to defend himself in the money laundering allegations.’’

    Justice Daudu-Williams said that there was not enough evidence in the defence given by Maina to prove that he did not commit the offence.

    ´The whole issue is resolved against the appellant and the appeal fails, this is the position of the court,’’ the judge said.

    Justice Abang had on Nov. 8, 2022 sentenced Maina. the former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT) to eight years in prison for money laundering.

    The sentence was to run concurrently beginning from Oct. 25, 2019, when he was arraigned.

    The judge also ordered that Maina’s company, Common Input Property and Investment Limited, which was charged alongside Maina be wound up and its assets forfeited to the Federal Government.

    Maina, not satisfied with the judgment of the trial court, approached the appellate court challenging the judgment.

    In the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/256/2019, EFCC alleged that Maina used fictitious names to open and operate various bank accounts.

    The anti-graft agency also said that he recruited his relatives that were bankers to operate fake bank accounts through which illicit funds were channeled.

    The EFCC arraigned him on a12-count charge and alleged that sums of N300 million, N500 million and N1.5 billion were stolen from pensioners and deposited in the accounts

  • Court fires Labour Party national chairman, Secretary, others

    Court fires Labour Party national chairman, Secretary, others

    A Federal Capital Territory High Court has issued an order restraining the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Mr Julius Abure; National Secretary, Farouk Ibrahim and two others from parading themselves as national officers of the party.

    Others stopped from parading themselves as national officers are the National Organising Secretary, Mr Clement Ojukwu, and the Treasurer.

    Justice Hamza Muazu issued the restraining order while ruling in ex-parte application argued by a James Onoja.

    In an application, Onoja told the court how the restrained National officers allegedly forged several documents of the FCT High Court to carry out unlawful substitutions in the last general elections.

    Among the documents were the receipts, seals, and affidavits of the court to carry out criminal activities.

    The Senior Counsel also tendered several documents, confirming to the Judge that the Chief Registrar of the Court wrote the Labour Party to disown several documents used for the alleged criminal activities by Abure and three others.

    Onoja adds that following their indictment by police investigation, the four people are to be arraigned in court, adding that warrants for their arrest have already been obtained.

    In a brief ruling, Justice Muazu held that the application and the supporting affidavits are a good case for the request to be granted.

    The judge subsequently ordered that the four people should immediately stop parading themselves as National Officers of Labour Party.

  • U.S-based philanthropist hails Adeleke’s appeal court victory

    U.S-based philanthropist hails Adeleke’s appeal court victory

    A United State of America -based business tycoon and philanthropist, Dr Magdalene Agada, has described Friday’s Abuja Appeal Court victory of Gov. Ademola Adeleke of Osun, as well deserved victory.

    Agada’s felicitation was conveyed in a statement issued from New York, U.S.A., and was made available to newsmen in Asaba, Delta.

    She noted that the Appeal Court verdict aligned with the wishes of the people of Osun.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Chief, Mrs Magdalena Nwaka Agada is a frontline philanthropist, whose Open Hands Amazing Charitable Organization undertakes life-changing activities across Nigeria.

    She also doubles as, President of leading U.S.-based medical equipment firm, Star Global Marketing Limited.

    She said, “as a long-time friend and development partner of Osun State, I followed the court proceedings with keen interest and wish to observe that the verdict of the revered Justices of the Court of Appeal, Abuja aligns with the wishes of the vast majority of Osun people.

    “The spontaneous joyful reaction of the people to the judgement speaks volumes.”

    She commended the Appeal Court Justices for upholding justice in the case, and to Gov. Adeleke, for his victory.

    “This verdict has once more served to rekindle hope in the Nigerian Judiciary as a bastion of justice.

    “For His Excellency, Sen. Ademola Adeleke, this is sweet victory for which I heartily congratulate him on behalf of my family, as well as my business and charitable organisations,” she said.

    The philanthropist, hailed Adeleke for leading his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to dominant victory in both the Presidential and National Assembly polls of Feb. 25, and March 18 State House of Assembly election.

    “This, no doubt, is a demonstration of the great love which Osun people have in His Excellency, Gov. Ademola Adeleke, and their strong belief in his leadership abilities,” she said.

    She, however, advised the governor to work even harder to meet the expectations of Osun people, as the saying goes, “to whom much is given, much is also expected.”

  • Double nomination: Appeal Court dismisses PDP suit against Tinubu, Shettima

    Double nomination: Appeal Court dismisses PDP suit against Tinubu, Shettima

    The Court of Appeal, Abuja, Friday evening, dismissed an appeal by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), seeking the disqualification of Sen. Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate, All Progressives Congress (APC), and his vice, Kassim Shettima, in the Feb. 25 election.

    A three-member panel headed by Justice James Abundaga, in a unanimous judgment, held that the PDP failed to establish that its had locus standi to institute the case.

    PDP, in an appeal marked: CA/ABJ/CV/108/2023, had prayed the appellate court to reverse the Jan. 13 judgment delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo of a Federal High Court, Abuja which dismissed its suit on the grounds that the PDP lacked locus standi to have instituted the suit.

    While the PDP was the appellant, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), APC, Tinubu and Shettima were respondents in the appeal.

    The PDP had, in the suit filed on July 28, 2022, challenged the validity of the Tinubu/Shettima ticket for the 2023 presidential election.

    It argued that Shettima’s nomination as the running mate was in breach of the provisions of Sections 29(1), 33, 35 and 84{1)}(2)} of the Electoral Act, 2022 (as amended), claiming that Shettima had double nominations.

    It claimed that as at the time Shettima was nominated as vice presidential candidate, he had not resigned or withdrawn his nomination as candidate for Borno Central Senatorial poll.

    The party argued that Shettima’s nomination as a vice-presidential candidate as well as the candidate for the Borno Central Senatorial seat contravened the law.

    The PDP, which sought an order disqualifying the APC, Tinubu and Shettima from contesting the presidential election scheduled for Feb. 25, equally prayed the court for an order nullifying their candidacy.

    It further prayed the court for an order compelling INEC to remove their names from its list of nominated or sponsored candidates eligible to contest the election.

    The defendants, in their preliminary objection, urged the court to dismiss the suit for want of jurisdiction.

    They contended that the plaintiff lacked the locus standi to institute the case, which invariably challenged APC’s decision and its nomination of candidates for the election, which were within the confines of the party’s internal affairs and thus, non-justiciable.

    Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Abundaga, who agreed with the submissions of lawyers to the respondents, including Thomas Ojo of Lateef Fagbemi and Co, described the PDP as a busy body, who dabbled into issues that were internal affairs of the APC.

    Justice Abundaga held that the trial court was right to have held that the PDP failed to establish its locus standi.

    “The appellant, having failed to disclose its locus standi, this appeal fails and it is hereby dismissed,” he said and proceeded to affirm the judgment of the FHC.

    The judge also awarded N5 million cost against the appellant’s lawyer, J. O. Olotu.

  • BREAKING: Appeal Court affirms Adeleke winner of Osun gov election

    BREAKING: Appeal Court affirms Adeleke winner of Osun gov election

    The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has affirmed the election of Gov.  Ademola Adeleke of Osun.

    The appelate court set aside the verdict of the Osun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which sacked him from office.

    Delivering judgment in the appeal filed by Adeleke on Friday, a three-member panel of Justices led by Justice Mohammed Shuaibu, held that the Tribunal erred when it ruled that the 1st and 2nd respondents (Gboyega Oyetola and the All Progressives Congress) proved their allegation of over-voting in the July 2022 election.

    The Osun Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in January held that Oyetola was able to prove that there was over-voting in some of the polling units.

    Consequently, the majority judgment of the Tribunal ordered INEC to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Adeleke and issue a fresh one to Oyetola as the duly elected governor of Osun instead.

  • JUST IN: Appeal Court quashes Abba Kyari’s associate’s request for bail

    JUST IN: Appeal Court quashes Abba Kyari’s associate’s request for bail

    The Court of Appeal in Abuja has quashed an appeal by Assistant Commissioner of Police, Sunday Ubua wherein he sought to be admitted to bail.

    TheNewsGuru.com, (TNG) recalls Ubua is an associate of the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, being prosecuted together by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for unlawful drug dealings and other charges.

    In a judgment on Friday, a three-member panel of the appellate court held that the appeal by Ubua was without merit and affirmed the ruling by Justice Nwite, delivered on March 28, 2022.

    The March 28 judgement rejected Ubua’s application for bail on the grounds that the prosecution placed sufficient materials before the court to warrant its rejection of the bail application.

    Justice Stephen Adah, in the lead judgment, held that the appellant did not present any new materials before the court to warrant the court’s departure from the earlier decision on the issue by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

    Ubua is standing trial with Kyari and three other former members of the Intelligence Response Team, Force Investigation and Intelligence Department of the Nigeria Police Force on charges bordering on unlawful dealing in drugs and attempting to tamper with evidence.

    Details later….