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Tag: Court Order

  • Recruitment: Police defy court order, release names of successful candidates

    Recruitment: Police defy court order, release names of successful candidates

    The Police on Friday released the names of successful candidates in the 2019 recruitment exercise.

    The announcement appears to be in defiance of a recent ruling of the Federal High Court, Abuja, that the Police and the Police Service Commission should stay action on the recruitment pending the determination of a suit filed by the force against the PSC on the matter.

    A tweet on the Nigeria Police verified Twitter handle @PoliceNG reads: “List of successful candidates in the 2019 recruitment exercise into the Nigeria Police Force, 24th October, 2019.

    ”The IGP has vetted and given approval for the release of the final and authenticated list of successful candidates who participated in the ongoing recruitment exercise into the Nigeria Police Force. Below is the list of successful candidates: https://www.npf.gov.ng/information/index.php”.

    In the link, under general instructions, the successful candidates were asked to report at the police colleges/training schools indicated against their states.

    The training and documentation shall commence on Monday, October 28 and closes on Friday, November 1. Failure to report for training within the stipulated time will mean that the candidate has declined the offer.

  • Alleged N2b pension fraud: EFCC secures court order to detain Maina, son

    Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday said it had secured an order of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Bwari, to detain former Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina and his son, Faisal, in its custody pending the conclusion of investigation against them.

    A statement by the anti-graft’s Head of Media and Publicity, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, said: “The order, which was given on October 7, 2019, following an ex parte application by the anti-graft agency, empowers the commission to remand the defendants in its custody for an initial period of 14 days.

    “The court, however, noted that the order is ‘subject to be reviewed, if necessary’.

    “Maina and his son were arrested at an Abuja Hotel by the Department of State Services, following a request by the commission.

    “They were subsequently handed to the EFCC for further investigation and prosecution on allegations of fraud and money laundering.”

    Also, for pulling a gun on security agents who came to arrest his father, Faisal has been handed over to the police for investigation.

    The 20-year-old tried to prevent his father from being arrested at Pennsylvania Avenue Hotel, Utako, Abuja, last week.

    But while Faisal has a date with the police, his father yesterday underwent what a source described as “marathon interrogation”.

    The ex-pension boss is expected to justify how he came about 40 assets and thousands of transactions in banks linked with him.

    Detectives also discovered that Maina actually used the Bank Verification Number (BVN) of his relations, including sisters, to open some fictitious accounts.

    There were indications that all his accounts might be frozen by the EFCC.

    According to a source, who spoke in confidence, Maina has opened up in detention on his activities.

    The source said: “Maina and his son have been in custody in the last one week. But we have decided to refer his son to the Nigeria Police for investigation for illegal possession of firearms and attempted murder of security operatives.

    “If any prima facie case is established, Faisal Maina will face trial accordingly. But he aided his father to resist arrest by the Department of State Services (DSS) with a pistol. It is left to the police to look at his conduct in line with the law of the land.”

    On the fate of Maina, the source added: “The interrogation of Maina continued for hours yesterday (Tuesday) and he has made useful statement. So far, we have traced over 40 assets to him and we are verifying all the documents.

    “Thousands of transactions have been linked with him. We have also picked him up on how he came up with fictitious accounts, including the use of BVN of his relatives, like his sisters, for these accounts.”

    “We will certainly take measures to freeze his accounts to enable our detectives conduct a good profiling of him. We will soon release some details of what he admitted in the course of interrogation.”

    DSS Public Relations Officer, Dr. Peter Afunnaya, last Wednesday, said the service recovered some items from the suspects after their arrest in Abuja.

    He said: “Maina was arrested in company of his 20-year-old son, Faisal Abdulrasheed Maina, who unsuccessfully tried to resist arrest.

    “The lad even pulled a pistol against the security agents involved in the operation. He was, however, disarmed and arrested. He is a final year student at the Canadian University of Dubai where he is studying Telecoms Engineering.

    “Items recovered from the suspects include a pistol with live ammunition, a bulletproof Range Rover SUV, a BMW saloon car, foreign currencies, a Phantom 7 drone and sensitive documents.”

  • Comply with court order on reopening AIT, Raypower stations, Saraki tells NBC

    Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki has asked the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission, NBC, to comply with court order to re-open the African Independent Television, AIT, and Ray Power FM shut by the commission on Thursday.

    Recall that the NBC, had on Thursday shut AIT and Ray Power owned by DAAR Communications for breaching its guidelines.

    The Federal High Court in Abuja had on Friday ordered NBC to re-open the station pending determination of the matter in court.

    Speaking on the matter, Saraki, in a statement, said the management and the workers of AIT and DAAR Communications came to the National Assembly to air out their concerns over the purported moves to clamp down on their stations.

    “As Thursday was the Valedictory session of the 8th Senate, we could not take action on the matter immediately and to our surprise, the premises of the broadcast station were immediately closed by the NBC.

    “Regulators, though necessary, must know that all such actions that give the impression of the endangering of the freedom of the press or freedom of speech cast our nation in a bad light. Such issues need to be handled in a better manner,” he said.

    Moving forward, Saraki stated that the NBC needed to comply with the court’s order and that “we must understand that this is not only about AIT, this is about Nigeria and one of its stations that is not only viewed within the country, but outside the country as well.

    “The NBC should find a better way to resolve the issue, even after adhering to the ruling of the court. We must be seen to be a nation that adheres strictly to the rule of law.”

  • GTB vows to ensure ‘No illegal or fraudulent execution’ is carried out by Innoson

    Guarantee Trust Bank says it is taking all necessary legal steps to ensure that no illegal or fraudulent execution is carried out by Innoson motors, with whom it has a long-drawn-out court case.

    On Friday, Innoson Nigeria Limited had announced that it obtained a writ of Fifa from the Federal High Court in Awka, Anambra State, against GTB to effect the judgment given by the Federal High Court in Ibadan and upheld by the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

    Cornel Osigwe, the Head of Corporate Communication of Innoson, made the announcement, saying: “The Chairman of Innoson Group, Chief Dr. Innocent Chukwuma, OFR has through a Writ of FiFa taken over Guaranty Trust Bank PLC for and on behalf of Innoson Nigeria Ltd as a result of the bank’s indebtedness to Innoson Nigeria Ltd. In a landmark decision on February 27th 2019, the Supreme Court of Nigeria dismissed GTB’s appeal — SC. 694/2014 — against the judgment of Court of Appeal, Ibadan Division.”

    “We have taken over GTBank in Awka and Nnewi,” Osigwe subsequently announced, adding that “other branches are coming soon”.

    However, the bank has moved to assure its customers of the safety of their funds, clarifying that the said judgement is applicable to the account of the Nigerian Customs Service Board domiciled with the bank, rather than the bank as an entity.

    “The attention of Guaranty Trust Bank PLC (“the Bank”) has been drawn to statements circulating in the news and social media in respect of a purported enforcement of a judgement of the Federal High court, Ibadan, Oyo state, at one of its branches in Anambra state,” it said in a statement on Friday night.

    “The Bank as a law-abiding corporate citizen is taking all necessary legal steps to address this situation and ensure that no illegal or fraudulent execution is carried out.

    “It is important to state that the Judgment allegedly in issue is in respect of a Garnishee Proceedings against the account of the Nigerian Customs Service Board domiciled with the Bank and not against the Bank as an entity.

    “The Bank remains committed to providing best-in- class customer experience to all its valued customers.”

  • Inconclusive poll: INEC heeds court’s order, suspends collation of results in Bauchi

    Inconclusive poll: INEC heeds court’s order, suspends collation of results in Bauchi

    The Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ), says it has complied with a court order restraining it from resuming with the collation and announcement of result for Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area, LGA.

    A Federal High Court in Abuja had barred the Commission (INEC) from collation of result of the governorship election of March 9 in Bauchi State, in an order given by Justice Inyang Ekwo on Tuesday following an ex parte application filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the incumbent governor of the state, Mohammed Abubakar.

    While briefing newsmen on the latest development at the headquarters of INEC office, the State Commissioner, Ibrahim Abdullahi said “The INEC has received receipt of a court order restraining it from proceeding with the collation and announcement of result in respect of Tafawa Balewa Governorship constituency”

    He however added that the order which was granted by the court does not include the Tafawa Balewa State constituency hence arrangement will be made to continue with the State constituency collation and subsequently announce the result.

  • Atiku, PDP planning to secure court order today to stop announcement of presidential results – APC

    Atiku, PDP planning to secure court order today to stop announcement of presidential results – APC

    President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign has released the statement below alleging that the main opposition candidate, Atiku Abubakar, plans to secure a court order to stop the announcement of results.

    The APC campaign team also made other allegations against Atiku, most unsubstantiated in what has become a pattern between the two parties.

    SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2019.

    PRESS RELEASE BY APC PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN COUNCIL:

    PDP PLANS TO OBTAIN A COURT INJUNCTION ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2019 TO STOP ANNOUNCEMENT OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION RESULTS AND THROW THE COUNTRY INTO CONSTITUTIONAL CRISES

    Our usual patriotic sources from within the disgruntled PDP circle and Atiku’s Campaign team have reliably informed us that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has perfected plans to finally scuttle our democracy and throw the country into constitutional crises by surreptitiously obtaining an exparte (one-sided) court order stopping the announcement of the Presidential Election results which he fears have gone against him.

    We understand that a meeting was held today with a group of senior lawyers who were instructed to prepare and file the processes in court on Monday, February 25, 2019. Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was clear in his brief to the lawyers that he must be declared the President-elect of Nigeria by hook or crook, whether he wins or loses, or else he would drag the country down with him.

    Nigerians would recall that the June 12, 1993 debacle that brought Nigeria to its knees and caused our country international isolation was precipitated by a court injunction stopping the announcement of Presidential Election results. The court order was obtained by a certain Association for Better Nigeria headed then by one Chief Authur Nzeribe. This is exactly what Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who claims to be a democrat, wants to foist on this nation again because of his inordinate ambition.

    We are also informed that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar confided in those around him that his desperation is borne out of the fact that he has made profound commitments to his local and international sponsors regarding the sale of our national assets like NNPC and others to them that he cannot just afford to let them down at this time, having assured them that there was no way he would not win the presidential election. However, results trickling in from around the country have dampened his optimism.

    This has prompted his instructions to his campaign organization, especially his spokespersons to continue to issue statements, making false claims of ‘victory’ when there is no single scientific basis for such claims. For instance, as brazen as they are to claim victory, they have not pointed at one single presidential election result in any single unit in the whole country where they scored a particular figure with a result sheet duly signed by their agent that was subsequently changed at a Collation Centre. All we hear are sound bites of Atiku’s spokespersons, huffing and puffing about winning the election just to whip up public sentiments to prepare the ground to reject the results when they are eventually released by INEC.

    For us our position is very simple and straight forward: we wish to allow the legal process of declaring presidential election results to take place peacefully and in an orderly fashion. President Buhari is not desperate, but is very confident of victory.

    We also note their attempt to discredit the entire elections by certain isolated incidents of violence in some parts of the country. For instance, Lagos State that has more than 13,000 voting points recorded a very unfortunate, despicable and condemnable act of violence in one voting point that was clearly not perpetuated by any known or accredited member of our party. Yet the PDP has cried out to the world about ‘burning of ballot papers in most parts the country’.

    We therefore wish to advice anyone who wishes to aid and encourage Alhaji Atiku Abubakar along this infamous part to remember the June 12 debacle. Alhaji Atiku Abubakar may also wish to learn a lesson or two from President Muhammadu Buhari who resorted to the court of law in 2003 when Atiku, along with President Olusegun Obasanjo, ‘defeated’ him in the presidential race in that year in controversial circumstances. President Buhari, as a true statesman and democrat, never resorted to underhand tactics to declare himself President.

    We hope a word is enough for the wise.

    Thank you.

    FESTUS KEYAMO, SAN, FCIArb (UK)
    Director, Strategic Communications,
    APC Presidential Campaign Council
    (Official Spokesperson)

  • 2019: Finally, APC gets court order to field candidates in Zamfara

    The Court of Appeal in Sokoto has dismissed an appeal against the judgment of a Zamfara State High Court asking the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for various offices in Zamfara State.

    The judgment effectively paves the way for the APC to participate in all elections in the state starting on Saturday with the presidential and National Assembly polls.

    A three-member panel of judges unanimously dismissed the appeal following its withdrawal by the appellant, Aminu Jaji.

    INEC had earlier insisted it would not recognise the Zamfara candidates who were produced after the stipulated time for primaries.

    The electoral body also maintained its position following conflicting judgments on the matter by a high court of Zamfara and federal high court on January 25.

    The High Court in Zamfara had on that day ruled that the actually conducted primaries in the state and should be allowed to present candidates for the electoral contest.

    That court specifically directed INEC to accept candidates from the party for Zamfara. Justice Muhammad Shinkafi, who delivered the ruling, said the APC conducted primaries elections on October 3 and 7, 2018.

    The court also barred the national secretariat of the APC from replacing the names of those who won the primary elections of the party.

    In the case with suit number ZMS/GS/52/2018, Sanusi Liman, Dan Alhaji and 37 others vs APC and 143, the plaintiffs had asked the court to compel the APC and INEC to accept the results of the party’s primaries election in the state conducted on October 7, 2018.

    A Federal High Court in Abuja, however, ruled otherwise on a suit filed by some individuals, who said they emerged from a consensus arrangement adopted by the party in Zamfara State.

    The court said INEC acted within its powers by refusing to accept the list of candidates from the Zamfara State chapter of the APC.

    In the judgment, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, said it was not the fault of INEC that the APC failed to conduct a valid primary within the period scheduled by the electoral body.

    Ojukwu said INEC’s action was intended to curb impunity among political parties and politicians and ensure that rule of law is adhered to.

    INEC had last October said it would not allow the APC to field candidates in Zamfara because the party failed to conduct primaries before the deadline stipulated.

    Some members of the APC in the state had approached the court challenging the decision of INEC.

    The party said it conducted primaries which produced current governor Abdulaziz Yari as a senatorial candidate and his commissioner of finance, Shehu Idris, as governorship candidate, among other candidates.

  • FG’s refusal to obey court order is corruption – Emir

    The Emir of Gummi, Justice Lawal Hassan Gummi (retd.), says refusal to obey a court order is another form of corruption, noting that government must exemplify the change it promised before expecting citizens to follow suit.

    He said disrespect for the rule of law, bad governance, disobedience to court orders, non-compliance with electoral regulations by political parties, godfathers hijacking the electoral process and dwindling confidence in the justice system posed threats to Nigeria’s democracy.

    The monarch, who was the keynote speaker at the Barewa Old Boys Association annual lecture, held at the Umaru Ali Shinkafi Polytechnic, Sokoto, spoke on the topic, ‘The challenges of the judiciary to democracy: The Nigeria perspective.’

    The 97-year old college, located in Kaduna State, is reputed for producing five out of Nigeria’s past leaders, including General Yakubu Gowon, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, late Umaru Yar’adua, late Gen. Murtala Mohammed and the late Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.

    It has also produced three Chief Justices of Nigeria, three Inspectors-General of Police and four Secretaries to the Government of the Federation.

    But in his address, Gummi described the judiciary as the watchdog of democracy, without which “reckless marauders will attack the society,” adding that an insecure judiciary is one of the greatest threats to democracy.

    He said, “Orders of court are disobeyed at will in the name of fighting corruption. No one institution, no matter how highly placed, should flout the laws of the land, not even under the guise of fighting corruption. Refusing to obey an order of court is another form of corruption in itself.

    “The executive cannot play the role of both the accuser and that of the judge at the same time. It is an aberration in a democracy. National security cannot take precedence over the rule of law; rather, it should be guided by the rule of law.

    “Any democracy where the executive tries to intimidate and harass the legislature and/or the judiciary into doing its bidding is a democracy under threat. In the same vein, it is not right in a democracy for the National Assembly to make governance difficult for the executive for pecuniary reasons.

    “We all agree that we need change as promised by the government, but that change must first begin with them, then, you and me.”

  • Alleged corruption: EFCC obtains court order to detain Fayose for two weeks

    …as ex-gov threatens to sue anti-graft agency

    Indications emerged on Wednesday that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has obtained a remand order from a Federal Capital Territory High Court to keep former Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State for two weeks.

    The remand order, it was learnt, is subject to renewal which implies that Fayose could spend longer than two weeks in custody.

    A reliable source said, “We have obtained a court order to hold Fayose for at least two weeks pending investigation. He could be released earlier or later than two weeks depending on the outcome of investigation.”

    Fayose is under probe for allegedly receiving N1.3bn from the Office of the National Security Adviser through a former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, during the build-up to the 2014 governorship election in Ekiti State.

    However, sources within the commission said that Fayose was also under probe for allegedly receiving kickbacks from government contractors through his aide, Abiodun Agbele, who is currently standing trial for fraud.

    The EFCC source said, “We have many cases against Fayose being handled by three different teams. We cannot just arraign him immediately. We want to do a thorough job before taking him to court.”

    Meanwhile, the lawyer to Fayose, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), insisted that if the EFCC failed to release the former governor on Thursday (today), the commission would be sued for breaching Fayose’s fundamental human rights.

    Ozekhome said the EFCC began investigating Fayose over two years ago and that he wondered why the agency would decide to hold him for over 24 hours.

    He said the commission could not force Fayose to write any statement as he reserved the right to remain silent.

    The senior advocate said any move to obtain a remand order would amount to illegality because the Supreme Court had made that clear.

    The lawyer said since Fayose’s accounts had been frozen and his properties seized by the commission, there was nothing for the ex-governor to tell the EFCC as the matter was already in court.

    Ozekhome added, “His lawyers will consider approaching the court for the enforcement of his fundamental human rights if he is not released on Thursday. Section 35 and 36 of the constitution are clear on this.

    “He is not a flight risk. He willingly submitted himself to the EFCC even earlier than the time he was supposed to come. What the EFCC is doing is nothing but media trial.

    “From the way they have been chasing Fayose in the last three years, one would have expected that the EFCC would have completed its investigations and would arrest him immediately his tenure expires and charge him the next day but that is not the case.

    “They want him to write a statement by force and then use the statement against him instead of using their own evidence.”

     

  • Multichoice appeals court order, insists on new tariffs for DSTV, GoTV

    Sequel to a court judgement restraining MultiChoice Nigeria from implementing its proposed increase in subscription fee, the company on said on Friday filed an appeal against the order of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

    But, the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) insists the order of the high court stopping implementation of the new tariffs will subsist till the appeal has been heard and ruling given by the court.

    Recall that Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court, Abuja issued had on Monday issued an order restraining the cable television broadcasting company, its agents or representatives from going ahead with the increment of subscription rates till further notice.

    The order followed an application filed on behalf of the Nigerian government by the CPC in case No. FHC/ABJ/CS/894 to stop any upward review of subscription fees for DSTV and GoTV services.

    Early last month, MultiChoice Nigeria announced its decision to review upwards the monthly subscription rates for its cable television services, namely DSTV and GoTV, with effect from August 1.

    Under the new price regime, the company said the Premium package subscribers pay about 7.5 per cent more (about N15,800) from about N14,700 every month.

    Also, their Compact Plus customers were to pay N10,650, from N9,900; Compact bouquets N6,800, from N6,300, while the Family package was increased from N3,800 to N4,000, with Access from N1,900 to N2,000.

    However, the Director-General of the CPC, Babatunde Irukera, who led other concerned Nigerians to file the application, said in the statement of claims before the court that the action by Multichoice Nigeria contravened an ongoing investigation.

    Other applicants who signed a nine-paragraphs statement of claims included Abimbola Ojenike, Eme David-Ojugo, Moray Adebayo, Teniola Medupin and Florence Abebe.

    In his ruling on Monday, Justice Dimgba said the interim injunction restraining Multichoice Nigeria or its agents and representatives was to halt its “continuing implementation of any increase in subscription rates or price review policy imposing increased charges and costs on the consumers pending the determination of the motion on notice.”

    Also, Multichoice Nigeria was “restrained from further carrying on or continuing any conduct or activity which interferes with or has effect of circumventing the outcome of ongoing investigations by the CPC into the company’s compliance or non-compliance with the February 16, 2016 order pending the determination of the motion on notice.”

    Regardless, MultiChoice Nigeria in a statement on Friday confirmed it was served with an interim order by the Federal High Court regarding the price adjustment it implemented on August 1, 2018.