The upper and lower chamber (Senate, House of Representative) would, today pass the 2016 Appropriation Bill presented by President Muhammdu Buhari on December 22, 2015.
The Senate Chairman of the Appropriation Committee, Senator Danjuma Goje said the Senate might possibly hold two sessions on Wednesday to enable it to pass the fiscal document.
He said, “We have perfected necessary arrangements to ensure that the budget is considered and passed before we proceed on recess tomorrow (Wednesday)”.
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The federal lawmakers, who had earlier slated last week for the submission of the report, postponed it because of fresh errors they said were discovered in the fiscal document. Thanks for reading.
Alleged Corruption: Court Adjourns Metuh, Badeh’s Trial Again
Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja has once again adjourned the trial of the spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party, Olisa Metuh.
The case will continue on Thursday, the Judge ruled on Wednesday.
Mr. Metuh is facing a seven-count charge of alleged money laundering to the tune of N400 million.
He was expected to open his defence Wednesday.
Mr. Abang had adjourned the opening of Mr. Metuh’s Defence last Thursday, following an application by the PDP spokesperson for the case to be transferred to another judge.
The application, filed by Mr. Metuh’s lawyer, Emeka Etiaba, listed 16 reasons Mr. Abang should not be allowed to hear the case.
Also on Wednesday, Justice Abang also adjourned the trial of former Chief of Air staff, Alex Badeh to Thursday. Thanks for reading.
Alleged N32bn Fraud: Dasuki Refuses To Appear In Court , Stalls Trial
Embattled National Security Adviser, NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki, retd, failed to appear in court on Wednesday, for the commencement of his trial on the 19-count money laundering charge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, preferred against him and four others.
The anti-graft agency had in the charge it filed before an Abuja High Court sitting at Maitama, alleged that Dasuki connived with the erstwhile Director of Finance in the Office of the NSA, Mr. Shuaibu Salisu and a former Executive Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Aminu Baba-Kusa, and diverted public funds to the tune of N32billion.
The EFCC had alleged that the N32bn was distributed to delegates that attended the Presidential Primary Election the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, held in Abuja, a process that saw the emergence of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan as the sole candidate of the party.
Trial Justice Hussein Baba Yusuf had on February 8, okayed full-blown hearing to commence on the matter but at the resumption of trial on Wednesday, the prosecutor failed to produce Dasuki.
EFCC lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, told the court that the former NSA who has been in detention since November 3, 2015, refused to be brought to court. “My lord, yesterday (Tuesday) the 1st defendant was notified that this matter will come up today (Wednesday) for hearing and that he should prepare. However, this morning, the 1st defendant refused to come to court on the ground that his lead counsels Mr. J. B. Daudu, SAN, and Ahmed Raji, SAN, will not be in court.
“We persuaded him to at least come to court first but he refused and insisted that he cannot be abducted. He said that nobody can ad but and bring him to court”, Rotimi added.
He argued that section 267(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015, allows the court to commence hearing on a case against a defendant who is not in custody, so far such person is permitted to have unfettered access to his lawyers.
“I asked the DSS whether any of his counsels ever made any attempt to see him and they said none of his lawyers ever did. My lord I submit that it is not the law that once a defendant is in custody his trial cannot go on. That is the misconception that the defendant has been given out.
“This recent action is a deliberate game-plan by the defendant and his counsel to ensure that this trial does not go on today. My witnesses are here and ready to testify. The blatant refusal by the defendant to appear in court amounts to misconduct”, Jacobs insisted. Nevertheless, the lawyer who announced appearance for Dasuki, Mr. Wale Balogun, told the court that he was not aware of any of the allegations the prosecution raised against his client. He contended that the onus was on the prosecution to produce the defendant who has been in its custody, in court for trial. ”We are not in custody of the 1st defendant, they are the ones that have him in custody.
We are not ordinarily allowed to see him, so there is no way we can confirm all the allegations. “It is elementary requirement of law that the defendant must be present during his trial, the prosecution has not made any application for his presence to be excused.
The allegation the prosecution raised are very serious. He said someone told him, that DSS officer ought to have deposed an affidavit. “The learned silk cannot give evidence from the bar. His allegations should have been supported by an affidavit duly deposed before this court”,
Balogun argued. Similarly, counsel to the other defendants agreed with Dasuki’s lawyer that EFCC ought to have backed the allegations with an affidavit evidence.
The judge, therefore agreed with the defence counsel on the need to adjourned the case. Consequently, Justice Baba Yusuf adjourned the matter till April 6, 2016 for the prosecution to produce the defendant in court. Thanks for reading.
Academic Requirement: UNILAG Medical Students Get Court Order
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Tuesday has ordered the University of Lagos, (UNILAG) Senate not to give effect to its decision to upwardly review the academic requirement for medical students in 100 level to proceed to 200 level.
The judge, Justice Sule Hassan said it would be in the interest of the institution to hold action on its decision it made on January 27 pending the hearing and determination of a suit filed by some aggrieved medical students to challenge the decision.
The Justice gave the order in a positive response to an ex parte application argued by the medical students lawyer, Mr. Jiti Ogunye. The students had approached the judge, claiming that the alleged upward review of academic requirement for them to proceed from 100 level to 200 level was “an attempt to weed them out of the university.”
The students also accused UNILAG of raising the academic requirement in order to accommodate diploma students, who allegedly paid N500,000 to the institution’s College of Medicine.
According to the students, they were admitted to the university in the 2014/2015 academic year to study Medicine and Surgery, Nursing, Physiotherapy, Pharmacology, Physiology, Dentistry, Medical Laboratory Science and Radiography. And their admission process followed a successful performance in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and the post-UTME set by UNILAG.
The students urged the court to hold that the suit they filed would act as an order for the university to hold action on the decision till the case was finally heard and determined by the court.
After listening to the medical students lawyer on Tuesday, Justice Hassan, however, ordered both parties to maintain status quo ante bellum pending further hearing. Thanks for reading.
Killers Of Corps Member In Rivers Will Not Go Unpunished – Minister
Barrister Solomon Dalung, Minister of youths and sports development, has warned that those who contributed to the death of Samuel Okonta, a serving corps member, who was killed during the Rivers State re-run elections would not go unpunished.
Speaking when he received members of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) who paid a condolence visit to the NYSC headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, Dalung condemned the inhumane acts of violence during elections.
His words: “I want to assure Nigerians that the actors of the wicked acts in Rivers rerun election last weekend must be brought to book. They must be punished for what they have done. I want to assure Nigerians that this government will not condone any impunity again because it is impunity that has destroyed this country,” he noted.
Dalung appealed to politicians to always play the game, by the rules adding that at no point should officials and spectators be made the casualty of that game, because power according to him, is not worth the life of one single Nigerian.
Thanks for reading.
Corps Member Death: NYSC To Review MoU With INEC, Says DG
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), has disclosed that it will review the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to ensure the safety of corps members during elections.
This was made known by the Director-General of NYSC, Brigadier General Johnson Olawumi in Abuja on Tuesday, when Professor Mahmood Yakubu, INEC Chairman paid him a condolence visit on the death of Okonta Samuel, a corps member who was killed by gunmen during the Rivers State re-run elections.
According to the DG, the scheme had set up a panel of inquiry to investigate the killing and the findings of the panel would determine the need for the review of the MoU between NYSC and INEC. “In past elections, corps members have gone and come back peacefully. It is a shame that a society where there is government, elders and community leaders will allow an innocent corps member be killed.”
The NYSC DG lamented that the incidence was unfortunate because the scheme has been doing all that needs to be done in collaboration with INEC to ensure the safety and security of corps members. His words: “Over the past couple of years, we have taken part in elections in Edo, Anambra, Kogi, Ekiti, Osun States. As turbulent as these elections were in these states, over 6,000 corps members took part and no one was lost.
While commending security agencies for their role in ensuring the protection of corps members, the DG said the NYSC would review security arrangements to forestall future occurrence. Adding that the commission would participate in honouring the deceased and other corps members who might suffer from any form of injury in the cause of participating in election duty. Thanks for reading.
Okupe Is A ‘Hypocrite’, Obasanjo Blasts
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that former Senior Special Assistant to ex-President Goodluck on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe was a hypocrite.
Okupe had said that Obasanjo remained the “undisputed and authentic” leader of the PDP in the Southwest region of Nigeria.
Obasanjo through an online source (not Greennews.ng), said Okupe “does not know what he was saying”. He stated that he did not apply to join the PDP in 1998, rather, what was given to him was a registration card and his decision to tear the card meant that he was no longer a member of the party.
He also said there was no way he could be referred to as a leader of the party in the South West even if he was still a member.
Read Also: Okupe Blasts Kashamu, Says Obasanjo Remains PDP Leader
“I was a national leader of the party for eight years, so, how would I now reduce myself to becoming its leader in the South West,” he said.
Mr. Obasanjo also said Mr. Okupe should be ignored because he was one of those who campaigned for his his expulsion from the party. Thanks for reading.
