Attorney General of the Federation
Strike: Minister to hold fresh meeting with governors, NBA, JUSUN, others
Labour minister, Chris Ngige, has rescheduled a fresh meeting with the leaderships of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), over the lingering strike that has crippled court activities across the country for two weeks. Representatives of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) are also expected to be at the meeting scheduled to hold in Abuja on Tuesday. Members of JUSUN had on April 6 embarked on the indefinite nationwide strike to press home their demand for judiciary’s financial autonomy. The labour minister had on Thursday announced a last-minute postponement of the meeting he was scheduled to hold with the NBA, JUSUN and other stakeholders over the lingering crisis. The abrupt postponement of the meeting infuriated the leaderships of the body ...
Court restrains ALGON faction, others from interfering in association’s affairs
An Abuja Federal High Court has restrained the chairman of Bariga Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Hon. Alabi Akolade David-led faction of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) from parading its as the leaders of the association. The court also ordered the faction from taking all further action, steps, proceedings and assembly, relating to the conduct of of ALGON’s General Assembly slated for March 24, 2021, or any other day during the pendency of the suit. Other parties restrained by the court order include the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami, Inspector General of Police and one Mrs Binta Abdullahi Bello from interfering in the affairs of ALGON. The order followed the adoption of a motion ex-parte deposed to by Mohammed Inulin Abubakar on b...
AGF: I didn’t file any suit against Atiku Abubakar’s citizenship
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), has said that he never filed any suit challenging the citizenship of former vice president, Atiku Abubakar. The AGF, through his media aide, Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, said Malami “has never filed any case before any court challenging the citizenship of the former Vice President.” The AGF was reacting to a report of AGF’s position in a suit filed against Atiku by the Incorporated Trustees of Egalitarian Mission for Africa before the Federal High Court, Abuja. He said: ”The Honorable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN has never filled any case before any court in the country challenging the citizenship of the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. “The matter ...
Court urged to restrain Nigerian government on £4.2 million James Ibori loot
The Federal Government has been sued over its planned use of the £4.2million linked to former Delta State Governor James Ibori. The President, League of Ndokwa Professionals (LNP), Chief Tony Amechi and Legal Adviser, Evans Ufeli, on behalf of the people of Delta State, are challenging the Federal Government’s plan to deploy the funds to projects outside Delta. The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the Minister for Finance are the defendants. In their originating motion, the plaintiffs seek a declaration that the first and second defendants’ decision to deploy the yet to be repatriated sum of £4.2million belonging to Delta State government (when repatriated) for Federal Government’s projects is unconstitutional and repugnant to natural justic...
Justice Onnoghen: How ex-President Obasanjo saved me from conspiracy by some judges
File Photo Former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, has rated ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo as a better listener than President Muhammadu Buhari. Speaking in Abuja at the book launch of Ogwu Onoja, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), the former CJN said Obasanjo did not act based on falsehood. Buhari had in 2019 removed Onnoghen — weeks to the presidential election — over alleged failure to declare his assets and operating foreign accounts. He was thereafter convicted by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) and barred from holding public office for 10 years. At the event, Onnoghen said he was removed from office without being given the chance to defend himself, adding that he was never confronted with the allegations against him. Onnoghen recounted how a similar incid...
Activist asks court to compel Kano, others to refund VAT generated from alcohol
An Abuja-based activist, Sesugh Akume, has filed a suit before a Federal High Court in the nation’s capital, asking it to compel states that outlawed the sale of alcohol to refund the sums received through Value Added Tax imposed on alcoholic beverages. About 12 states practise Sharia law in Nigeria. They are Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Borno, Yobe, Jigawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Zamfara and Niger. Based on Sharia law, some of the states prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages and usually hold public events where bottles of alcoholic drinks are destroyed while gambling is also illegal. However, all the states receive VAT collected from alcoholic beverages sold in other states that permit the sale of the product. In an originating motion brought pursuant to Section 1(3), 4(5), 162(3), (4...
Delta government heads to Supreme Court to reclaim £4.2 million James Ibori loot
The Delta State Government says it will challenge federal government’s plan to deploy the recently returned £4.2 million (around N2.2 billion) recovered from former governor, James Ibori, at the Supreme Court. The Commissioner for Information, Ehiedu Aniagwu, disclosed this on Tuesday while reacting to news of the repatriation of the funds, which the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), said would be used to complete the ongoing work on Second Niger Bridge, Abuja-Kano Road and the Lagos-Ibadan road. “We would try to get take advantage of the legal system to make the federal government correct the injustice they are about to visit on us as a state,” he said. “If they are quite sure that the funds they are about to repatriate left Delta State on ...
Official: Nigerian government to establish central database for forfeited assets
The Federal Government’s inter-ministerial committee on assets disposal said Tuesday that it would create a central database of assets for finally forfeited assets. The chairman of the committee, Dayo Apata, said this during a courtesy visit of the committee to the headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja. Mr Apata, who is the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, said: “the committee will create a central database of assets that had been forfeited to the Federal Government to ensure the Federal Government gets value for all the forfeited assets”. “Introducing uniform process of assets disposal, and avoiding wastages, so that the Federal Government can have the full benefit of what has been forfeited,” a statem...
Court fixes date to hear suit seeking to oust ex-Speaker Dogara from House over defection to APC
Twitter The Federal High Court, Abuja, will, on February 4, hear a suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) asking for the declaration of the seat of Rep Yakubu Dogara vacate on account of his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Justice Okon Abang fixed the date on the grounds that it was not convenient for the court to take the matter. Newsmen report that while the PDP and its Bauchi State Chairman, Hamza Akuyam, are the plaintiffs, Dogara, who was the immediate-past Speaker, House of Representatives; the speaker of the House; the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF); Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the APC are 1st to 5th defendants respectively in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1060/2020. NAN reports that Dogara, who represents Dass, Tafawa Bal...
Igbo group writes Nigerian government to request extradition of Nnamdi Kanu for ‘treasonable felony
YouTube An Igbo professional group, Coalition of South East Professionals’ Network in Nigeria and Diaspora (CSEPNND), has written an open letter to the Federal Government of Nigeria, urging it to immediately write the Government of the United Kingdom and Israel, requesting for extradition of leader of Indigenous People of Biafra,Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,to face the law over his involvement in alleged treasonable felony. The group whose request was contained in the open letter dated January 8th, 2021, and addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari, explained that its action was predicated on Kanu’s ceaseless treasonable activities in the country. Noting that Kanu possessed citizenship of the two foreign nations, the coalition, according to the letter signed by its National President, Prof. Madumere Ch...
Central bank chief to engage governors on pension funds utilization for infrastructure
Bloomberg Mr Godwin Emefiele, the Central Bank Governor, will tomorrow Wednesday, 2nd December 2020, meet with Governors of the 36 states, under the aegis of Nigerian Governors’ Forum, to discuss how to access Pension Funds for Infrastructure Development in the country. Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, Head, Media and Public Affairs of NGF, made this known in a statement made available to newsmen on Monday. According to Bello-Barkindo, the forum will be the 22nd NGF Teleconference meeting which would also seek to evolve a new national security order that will ensure safety of lives and property nationwide. “As part of the effort, beginning at the subnational level, the Forum will be receiving zonal updates on SARS and Internal security at its Wednesday meeting. “Similarly, the Forum will also ...
36 states sue federal government, demand funding of state courts
The 36 states governors, through their respective Attorneys General and Commissioners for Justice, have dragged the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, before the Supreme Court over the failure of the Federal Government to fund the courts in the country with recurrent expenditure since May 5, 2009. It will be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari, had in May 2020, signed Executive Order 10, which gave financial autonomy to the legislature and judiciary at the state level. The state governors argued that the Federal Government should also fund state courts if the president must make such order. The plaintiffs in the suit against the AGF, through their counsel, Mr Augustine Alegeh, SAN, are contending that the respondent refused to fun...
