TheNewsGuru

Tag: Ruling

  • Again, FG, ASUU negotiation fail, Appeal Court to give ruling on Friday

    Again, FG, ASUU negotiation fail, Appeal Court to give ruling on Friday

    The Court of Appeal will today deliver a judgment on the application filed by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU) against the order of the National Industrial Court asking the public lecturers to resume after it embarked on eight-month-old strike action.

    The NICN ruled that ASUU should call off its eight-month-old strike and enter into negotiations with the federal government.

    However, ASUU, through its counsel, Femi Falana (SAN), filed an application at the Court of Appeal (Abuja Division) seeking the leave of court to file an appeal against the industrial court order.

    Falana noted that it’s within ASUU’s right to file an appeal against the interlocutory injunction because it is against them.

    He added that ASUU will seek and obtain leave of the court of appeal before filing a notice of appeal to ensure the validity of the appeal.

    Falana asked a three-man panel of the court headed by Justice Hamma Barka to reject government opposition against the application, adding that it would amount to a dangerous decision for his client to be denied the right of appeal.

    Earlier, Falana had requested that the stay of execution of the ruling of the industrial court, contained in the application, be discontinued.

    However, in his opposition to ASUU’s application, the Federal Government prayed the court to dismiss the entire application on grounds of incompetence and jurisdiction.

    The lawyer to the Federal Government, James Igwe (SAN), drew the attention of the court to the fact that the Industrial Court order made on September 21, had not been obeyed by the lecturers.

    He also opposed the decision of ASUU to jettison the stay of execution of the Industrial Court order, adding that both parties had already joined issues.

    “ASUU is in contempt of court, it is illegal for ASUU to remain on strike in the face of the industrial court order. Section 18(1) of the Trade Dispute Act, does not allow a party in contempt to come before the Court of Appeal with the type of ASUU’s application”, he said.

    Igwe, therefore, prayed the Court of Appeal to dismiss the request of ASUU for leave to appeal against the Industrial Court order that has not been obeyed.

    Justice Barka Hamma, after taking arguments from the two parties, announced that the ruling of the court would be delivered on October 7.

    Meanwhile, lawyers for the Federal Government and ASUU on Thursday told the Court of Appeal that both parties could not settle for an out-of-court settlement as advised by the court.

    Falana suggested that their application challenging the ruling of the Industrial Court, be heard by the three-man panel of the Appeal court.

    Both parties agreed that the court should hear the application, as there was no amicable resolution reached as advised by the court.

     

  • Appeal Court says ex-Executive Director of Projects- NDDC, Tuoyo Omatsuli has case to answer in money laundering charges

    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.”

  • Extradition: Kashamu heads to S’Court, seeks overturn of A’Court ruling

    The senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District, Mr. Buruji Kashamu, has headed for the Supreme Court seeking to overturn last Friday’s judgment of the Court of Appeal, which reversed a restraining order that he secured in 2015 against the Attorney General of the Federation and several law enforcement agencies in the country.

    Kashamu had in 2015 secured a judgment of the Federal High Court in Lagos restraining the AGF and others from “abducting” him and forcefully “transporting” him to the United States of America to stand trial over alleged drug offences before Judge Norgle.

    The senator had then, through his lawyer, Mr. Ajibola Oluyede, told Justice Okon Abang that he had uncovered a plot by his political enemies to manipulate law enforcement agencies in the country to abduct and transport him to the US.

    Justice Abang, in a May 27, 2015 judgment, restrained all the defendants in the suit, including the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency from abducting and transporting Kashamu to the US, holding that he had been exonerated of the alleged crime.

    But following an appeal by the AGF, the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, in a lead judgment by Justice Nimpar Yagarta on Friday, overturned Justice Abang’s judgment.

    The appellate court ruled that Kashamu’s claim of a plot to abduct him was speculative and inadmissible in the face of the provisions of the Evidence Act.

    Displeased with the judgment, the senator, through his lawyers has, therefore, headed for the Supreme Court, seeking the apex court’s intervention.

    In the notice of appeal, his counsel insisted that Kashamu’s affidavit before the Court of Appeal was full of facts showing the conclusion of a plot by the AGF and others to abduct and transport him to the US to face trial over alleged offences in respect of which he had been exonerated.

    The counsel contended that the appellate court was wrong for holding that Kashamu ought to have waited for the alleged plot to be hatched before approaching the court to seek redress.

    “There was uncontroverted evidence before the lower court that in 2000, during the Presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo, an illegal abduction was carried out against a Nigerian citizen with the assistance of government officials and with the consent of the said President Olusegun Obasanjo.

    “The lower court was wrong in failing to see that all the information that was available to the appellant was enough to justify an apprehension of likelihood of breach of his fundamental right to liberty through his abduction by the respondents and transportation to the USA,” Kashamu’s lawyers contended.

  • N11.5bn fraud: Court adjourns ruling on Alao-Akala’s application

    An Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan on Monday adjourned ruling on an application for stay of proceedings filed by a former governor of the state, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, and two others in an N11.5 billion fraud suit.

    Alao-Akala, Sen. Hosea Agboola, a former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters in the state, and Mr Femi Babalola, an Ibadan-based businessman, are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    Justice Muniru Owolabi adjourned ruling on the application till June 4 after listening to the arguments of both the prosecution and the defence counsel.

    Alao-Akala’s counsel, Mr Hakeem Afolabi (SAN), had informed the court that there was a pending appeal on the suit before the Supreme Court.

    Afolabi said that if the appeal at the Supreme Court succeeds, it would automatically terminate the proceedings at the lower court.

    He also said that going ahead with the matter at the lower court would be oppressive and constitute an abuse of court process.

    Afolabi urged the court to allow stay of proceedings pending the determination of the matter at the Supreme Court.

    Babalola’s counsel, Mr Richard Ogunwole (SAN), aligned with the submission of Afolabi and urged the court to grant the application.

    But EFCC counsel, Mr Benedict Ubi, argued that allowing the application would violate the constitution and Section 40 of the EFCC Act, 2004.

    Ubi urged the court to refuse the application and allow proceedings to go on.

    The defendants are facing an 11-count charge of conspiracy, awarding contract without budgetary provision, obtaining by false pretence, acquiring property with money derived from illegal act and concealing the ownership of such property among others.

  • Presidency shocked by Saraki’s acquittal at CCT, vows to appeal ruling

    The Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption, PACAC, Itse Sagay, has expressed shock at the acquittal of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, by the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the CCT on Wednesday cleared Saraki of false asset declaration charges brought against him by the federal government. The tribunal chairman, Danladi Umar, ruled that the prosecution failed to establish prima facie case against Saraki, thereby upholding a no-case submission made by the defendant’s counsel, Kanu Agabi.

    Sagay spoke in an interview with Premium Times on Wednesday. According to him: “I was shocked myself by the ruling. The amount of evidence amassed against him (Saraki) was considerable; so, I am surprised it was said no prima facie had been made against him. It’s shocking that’s all I can say.”

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the federal government arraigned Saraki before the CCT in September 2015.

    To prove his innocence of the charges, Saraki exhausted all avenues, up to the Supreme Court, which, however, resulted in his favour on Wednesday.

    “From the simple analysis of the evidence of the prosecution, we find it difficult to accept the seriousness of the witnesses. All the evidences were so discredited, unreliable that no reasonable court will attach probate value to them.

    “Since the essential ingredients of all the charges were not proved as required by law, this tribunal has no option to discharge and acquit the defendant in view of the manifestly unreliable evidence of the prosecution witnesses,” said Umar, whom Saraki had several times accused of bias.

    However, Sagay disagreed with Umar’s ruling.

    In his words: “”If you look at this case, the prosecution was very organised. Evidence was brought out very clearly. In fact, I would say mountains of evidence. So, nobody can blame poor prosecution in this case. So, what is the problem? A Nigerian factor? We don’t know,” said. Mr. Sagay.

    Speaking further, Sagay said the whole anti-corruption structure should be reexamined. He also dismissed popular insinuations that Saraki’s trial at the CCT was politically motivated in the first place.

    “It is a thing that will be under a very serious review to assess the whole anti-corruption fight; to see who is for it; who is subverting it.”

    “What I say is this: do not commit a crime so that no one will politically motivate your trial. Be clean. Who can come after me now politically? Nobody can charge me politically no matter how politically motivated he is against me, because I have nothing.”

    Asked to advise the government on what next to do, Mr. Sagay said: “obviously it (Saraki’s acquittal) has to be appealed against for the sake of the judicial system. The whole thing sounds incredible.”