Court of Appeal
Obudu contract debt: Appeal court reserves judgment against Cross River
The Abuja division of the Court of Appeal has reserved judgment in the appeal filed by a private firm, Zedici Capital Ltd, against the Cross River State Government over a N3.8 billion contract debt. The appellant, Zedici Capital Ltd, is the firm that remodelled the Obudu Mountain Resort in Cross River State, now a subject of litigation. The three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, headed by Justice Peter Ige, reserved the date after counsel to the parties had adopted their legal submissions for and against the appeal, that is challenging the judgment of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which had in 2019, refused to affirm the arbitral award to Zedici Ltd over its investment of N3.8 billion in the resort. Justice Ige announced that a date for the judgment would be comm...
Appeal court affirms sentence of Gombe ex-commissioner
The Court of Appeal, Gombe Division, has affirmed the conviction of a former Commissioner for Culture and Tourism and Chairman of Shangon Local Government Area, Samuel Bulus Adamu. The ex-commissioner had on July 23,2020 been convicted and sentenced to 32 years imprisonment over a case of fraud, cheating and money laundering brought against him by Gombe Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. The lower court had ruled that the EFCC proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and consequently convicted and sentenced Adamu to a cumulative 31 years imprisonment on the seven count charge preferred against him. Adamu, was convicted for awarding N97.64 million contract to a non-existing company, inflation of contract and payment of contractor above his threshold. But diss...
Appeal court president inaugurates special court sitting 270 cases in Jos
The President of the Court of Appeal, Hon Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, has organised a special court sitting in Jos where about 270 Motions and Appeals would be addressed for quick dispensation of justice. Justice Dongban-Mensem disclosed this on Monday during the inauguration of the special court sitting, held at the Court of Appeal Jos Division, Plateau State. She noted that the essence of the special sitting was to ensure quick dispensation of justice over motions and Appeals that have not been heard. She described the special sitting which started from Abuja, Lagos and Jos as apt and said any Court of Appeal Division that apply for the special court sitting would be given the opportunity. Dongban-Mensem applauded the Chief Judge of Plateau State, Chief Judge of Federal High Court and...
CJN demands NJC’s involvement in fixing, reviewing of judge’s salary
The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Muhammad, has admonished the National Assembly to alter the constitution to mandate the National Judicial Council (NJC) to be involved in the fixing and reviewing of salaries and other emoluments of judges in the country. The CJN, who decried the non review of their salaries in the last 13 years by the Salaries and Wages Commission, also asked for the review of their salaries every four years. He also wants the NJC to collect, control and disburse all monies, capital and recurrent for the judiciary. Justice Muhammad’s demands were contained in the paper he presented as part of recommendations on behalf of the Judiciary at the national public hearing by Senate Committee on Review of the 1999 Constitution held at the Africa Hall of the Inte...
Justice Adah: Nigerians must work hard to ensure the country remains one
A legal luminary in the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, Justice Steve Adah, has stressed the need for all Nigerians to work hard to ensure that the country remains one indivisible entity. Justice Adah who stated this on Saturday at the 35th anniversary celebration of the Faith Women Fellowship in Makurdi, Benue State capital recalled that on May 29, 1999, Nigeria returned to democratic rule but has had little or nothing to show for it 22 years after. While speaking on the theme, “Defy Limitations to Soar Higher”, Adah noted that God had ordained Nigeria as the most populous black nation in the world to remain one indivisible country despite the numerous tribes, religion and political affiliation of the people. ‘May 29th of every four years, our presidents take oath of office. This is a da...
Edo election: Appeal Court upholds Governor Obaseki’s victory
The Court of Appeal, sitting in Benin, yesterday, upheld the ruling of the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal against the Action Democratic Party (ADP), and reaffirmed the victory of Governor Godwin Obaseki at the 2020 governorship election. Delivering the judgement in the case marked CA/B/EPT/GOV/01 & 1A/2021 Action Democratic Party & Anor v. INEC & 2Ors, the court held that Obaseki did not forge his certificates with which he contested the 2020 governorship election and dismissed the appeal filed by the ADP and its candidate. In another case marked /B/EPT/GOV/02/2021 Action Peoples Party (APP) Vs Godwin N. Obaseki & 2Ors., the Court unanimously upheld the Judgment of the Tribunal and dismissed the Appeal with costs assessed at N600,000 each, on two differe...
De-registration: Supreme Court judgement binding only on NUP – CUPP
The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has insisted that the recent Supreme Court judgement affirming the de-registration of 74 political parties is only binding on the National Unity Party (NUP). CUPP maintained that the judgment does not, in any way, bind on the 22 political parties which got victory at the Court of Appeal as they are not parties before the Supreme Court in NUP’s case and their prayers before the courts are also different. On August 10, 2020, the Court of Appeal in Appeal No. CA/ABJ/CV/507/2020, between Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD) & 21 others, and Attorney General of the Federation & INEC ruled that the de-registration of the 22 political parties was unconstitutional and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to relist the...
Supreme Court upholds INEC’s deregistration of 74 political parties
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld an earlier judgment of the Court of Appeal which okayed the deregistration of National Unity Party and 73 others. Newsmen had earlier reported that the Independent National Electoral Commission last year deregistered the political parties over their inability to win any election during the 2019 general elections. In the judgment delivered by Justice Adamu Jauro, the Supreme Court, on Friday, said the deregistration of NUP, one of the 74 parties, was done in line with the laws and compliance with the extant provisions of the Constitution and Electoral Act. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Bea...
President Buhari approves appointment of 18 appeal court judges
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of 18 Justices of the Court of Appeal. Newsmen reported that the 18 candidates were recommended to Mr Buhari by the National Judicial Council (NJC) for appointment in March. NJC’s Director of Information, Soji Oye, had in a statement on March 19, said the council’s interview committee made the decision recommending the candidates for appointment at its 94th meeting which held on March 17 and 18, under the chairmanship of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Tanko Muhammad. The president approved the recommendations in a memo by his Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Gambari, and addressed to the CJN. A copy of the memo titled, ‘Re: Appointment of eighteen (18) Justices of the Court of Appeal of Nigeria’ was circulated online on Thursday. Our corr...
How love affair gone bad led to imprisonment of Prophet Israel Oladele
When the Lagos State Court of Appeal granted the Senior Shepherd-in-Charge of the Celestial Church of Christ, Genesis Global, Prophet Israel Oladele Ogundipe, a post-conviction bail last week, on grounds of failing health, quite a number of people, particularly members of his congregation, were very happy with the news. This is because the televangelist’s previous bail applications were all turned down. Oladele was arraigned on seven counts bordering on obtaining by stealing, inducing delivery of money by false pretences, unlawful conversion of property and forgery, fraudulently collected N14m and £12,000 in various tranches from the complainant between August 30, 2002 and 2005. He was found guilty on two counts of stealing and unlawful conversion of property not delivered. And on November...
Official: Why CCB denies Nigerians access to public officers’ assets information
The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) on Wednesday explained why it denies Nigerians access to the details of the assets declared by public officers. The chair person of the bureau, Muhammad Isah, also disclosed that assets declaration would soon become online-based. Mr Isah, represented by his special assistant, Mustapha Musa, spoke in Lagos at a meeting on ‘Promoting Transparency and Accountability in Asset Declaration by High-Ranking Public Officers’. Newsmen report that the meeting was organised by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP). On access to public officers’ assets information, the CCB chair said the bureau never honoured citizens’ requests for such information because the National Assembly had yet to give the guidelines for such public disclosure. He said the...
NJC recommends appointment of 18 justices for Appeal Court, others
The National Judicial Council (NJC) under the Chairmanship of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Ibrahim Muhammad, has recommended to President Muhammadu Buhari, the appointment of 18 Justices into the bench of the Court of Appeal. The NJC similarly recommended to eight governors including that of Delta, Rivers, Ebonyi, Kogi, Jigawa and Nasarawa, the appointment of eight judges as Heads of Court in their affected states. The affected judicial officers according to a statement by the Director, Information, NJC, were considered for appointment by the NJC’s Interview Committee at the NJC’s 94th Meeting held on December 17 and 18, 2020. Among those recommended for appointment into the bench of the appellate court are; Justice Bature Gafai, Justice Muhammad Sirajo and Justice Waziri Abdul-Az...
