The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Monday gave an order barring the arrest of Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mahmood Yakubu.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Abdul Aboki leading a three-man panel suspended the enforcement of the arrest warrant issued by the Federal High Court in Abuja on Aug.1.
Aboki held that the injunction was aimed at compelling the police from activating the order of the lower court pending the hearing of the appeal fixed for Sept. 17.
“It will be prejudicial for the trial court to proceed with hearing of the matter scheduled for August 14.
“Consequently, the panel unanimously orders the stay of proceeding pending the hearing of Mahmood’s appeals,” he said.
The INEC boss had filed an appeal challenging the arrest warrant issued against him by the trial court.
In the appeal, Yakubu is challenging the validity of the arrest warrant that was issued against him by the court.
The appellate had maintained that he could not be arrested on the basis of a bench warrant that was legally defective.
He urged the Court of Appeal to invoke its powers and void the arrest order made by Justice Stephen Pam.
Pam had in a bench ruling ordered the Police to arrest and produce Yakubu in court on Aug. 8 to face contempt charges.
The order followed Yakubu’s failure to honour a summons the court issued for him to appear in respect of a suit involving the Anambra Chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The INEC chairman had between July 5 and July 10 allegedly failed to honour the court’s summons to defend contempt proceeding.
Yakubu, however, denied disobeying any order of court, adding that he was denied fair hearing by the trial court.
The INEC boss said there was no evidence that any court summons was enrolled and served on him.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has arrested a retired Justice of the Court of Appeal, Mohammed Tsamiya, for allegedly demanding N200 million bribe.
The spokesperson of the commission, Rasheedat Okoduwa, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.
Mr. Okoduwa alleged that the suspect demanded the bribe from one Nnamdi Orji in exchange for a favourable judgment in a National Assembly election case at the Imo division of the court.
According to her, the offence which violates Section 10 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, was committed in 2015.
“The retired Justice asked Orji, who was the candidate for All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) for Arochukwu/Ohafia Federal Constituency, to give him N200 million to influence the court’s decision in his favour.
“Orji had approached the court to seek redress in a case involving alleged inflation of the result of election in Arochukwu Local Government Area of Abia, which he had earlier lost to his opponent, Mr Nkole Ndukwe, at the National Assembly Election Tribunal.
Mr. “Tsamiya was alleged to have convinced the appellant of getting a favourable judgment from the court upon the payment of the money,’’ she said.
Mrs. Okoduwa said Mr. Tsamiya had since been granted bail by the commission after fulfilling the conditions, adding that investigation into the case continues.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, nullified the decision of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, which found former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, guilty of allegation that he falsely declared his assets in 2007.
Godsday Orubebe
In a unanimous judgement, a three-man panel of Justices of the appellate court led by Justice Mohammed Abdul Aboki, voided Orubebe’s conviction on the premise that the CCT verdict occasioned a miscarriage of justice against him.
Orubebe had in his Notice of Appeal marked CA/A/633c/2016, urged the appellate court to not only set-aside judgment the Justice Danladi Umar-led tribunal delivered against him on October 4, 2016, but to equally discharge and acquit him of the charge.
The tribunal had in its verdict, said it was satisfied that Orubebe shielded his ownership of Plot 2057 Asokoro District, Abuja.
Justice Umar who maintained that there was merit in the one-count amended charge the Federal Government entered against the former Minister, held that the said property should be forfeited to the government.
The tribunal noted that though Orubebe claimed that he had already sold the land before he submitted the assets declaration form, the title documents still had his name six years after.
Even though the tribunal confiscated the land from the defendant after it found him guilty of the offence of false declaration of assets contrary to section 15 of the CCB & Tribunal Act, Cap C15, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2007, it however declined to ban him from holding any public office.
Meanwhile, dissatisfied with the verdict, Orubebe, through his lawyer, Mr. Selekowei Larry, SAN, raised three grounds he said the appellate court should consider and nullify his conviction.
He prayed the appellate court to determine “Whether the tribunal was right in convicting the defendant for false declaration of plot 2057, Asokoro District, Abuja.
“Whether the tribunal was right in holding that the said plot 2057 remained or remains the defendant’s property despite exhibits D1, D2, and D3 being documentary evidence of transfer of interest executed in favour of one Divention Properties Ltd by the defendant.
As well as, “Whether the tribunal was right in suo motu raising the issue of non registration of Divention Properties Ltd’s title in respect of plot 2057 Asokoro District, Abuja and convicting the defendant thereon without granting party opportunity to be heard thereon”.
The embattled ex-Minister prayed the tribunal to allow the appeal on the premise that the prosecution woefully failed to prove the false declaration of assets against him.
According to him, “The said plot said not to be declared in the charge on September 26, 2007 was not yet given to the appellant as at then.
“The appellant did not make any declaration of assets on June 29, 2011 as alleged on the charge. He only made a declaration on June 28, 2011, by which time he was no longer the owner of plot 2057. The plot 2057 Asokoro District, Abuja, was a gift of empty land by the respondent (FRN) which he received on June 13, 2011 and parted with the same day.
“Having sold the said plot and executed D1, D2 and D3, he could not be reasonably expected to still declare it as his assets.
“That the tribunal based its decision on an issue that was not put before it, but raised suo motu by it without giving parties opportunity to be heard, thereby rendering it a nullity
“Accordingly, that the decision of the tribunal be set aside, the conviction quashed and the appellant be discharged and acquitted”.
While upholding the appeal on Wednesday, the appellate court panel held that the tribunal went beyond the case that was brought before it by the prosecution.
The court held that Orubebe’s trial was not based on his none declaration of title deed of the said property, but his alleged false declaration of his assets.
It stressed that as such, the unregistered instrument of transfer of the said property was admissible evidence in proof of the payment of purchase price, which showed that the property was already acquired by Divention Properties Ltd.
The appellate court stressed that the appellant could not have declared the same property he had parted with.
The court faulted the CCT for raising the issue of non-registration of title deed of the property suo motu (by itself).
“On the whole, it is our view that this appeal succeeded on its merit and is therefore allowed. The appellant is accordingly discharged and acquitted”, the court held.
