Lagos Fails To Arraign ‎Synagogue Church Trustees, Others

Lagos Fails To Arraign ‎Synagogue Church Trustees, Others

The planned arraignment of the of the Registered  Trustees of ‎Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) and the two engineers that constructed the collapsed six-story building belonging to the church was yesterday stalled due to failure of the Lagos State Government to serve three of the defendants with a copy of the charge.

The state has slammed a 111 count-charge of failure to obtain building approval and involuntary manslaughter on the church, the engineers, Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbela Fatiregun,  Jadny Trust Limited and Hardrock Construction & Engineering Company.

While the names of all the defendants were mentioned in count one, which accused them of failing to obtain building approval contrary to Section 41 of the Urban and Regional Planning law of Lagos state.

The name of the church was omitted in courts two to 111, which accused the defendants of involuntary manslaughter causing death contrary to Section 222 of the criminal laws of Lagos state 2011.

The Lagos State Government had on September 26, 2013 set up a coroner inquest presided over by Chief Magistrate Komolafe to ascertain the cause of the collapsed building, which left about 116 people dead.

Most of the victims of the collapsed building located within the premises of the church, were mostly of South Africa nationality, they were in Nigeria on religious tourism.

It will be recalled that the Coroner recommended that the church should be prosecuted for failing to obtain necessary approval before embarking on the construction of the collapsed building, while its recommended that the two structural engineers be prosecution for criminal negligence.

When the matter came up for hearing on Monday before Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja,  the state’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice,  Adeniji Kazeem informed the court that the state has not been able to serve three of the defendants with a copy of the charge.

Kazeem also told the court they could not effect service because they did not have valid addresses for the defendants.

He then said he has filed an application seeking the leave of the court for substituted serve, since the law requires that an accused person must be personally serve with the charge.

The counsel, who represented the Registered  Trustees of ‎Synagogue Church and Jadny Trust Limited, Oluseun Abimbola expressed surprise over the development,  according to him the state has alway served the three defendants in other proceedings before other courts.

Abimbola also said though he is not representing the absence defendants,  he is aware that their addresses are still valid and they can be reach through them.

At this point the judge ask the lawyer if he can furnish the prosecution with a valid addresses of the defendants, to which he answered in the affirmative.

Based on his commitment, Justice Lawal-Akapo directed the lawyer to to help furnish the prosecution with a valid addresses of the 3rd to 5th defendants within 78 hours to enable the prosecution effect service them before the next adjournment.

Before adjourning the case till December 11, 2015, the judge stated that the trial is a sensitive criminal case and that service in any proceeding is fundamental and anything done outside of it is a nullity.

Fury beats Klitschko to become new world heavyweight champion

Fury beats Klitschko to become new world heavyweight champion

Britain’s Tyson Fury was crowned the new world heavyweight champion on Saturday after a unanimous points win over Wladimir Klitschko, who suffered his first defeat in eleven years.
The 27-year-old Fury was awarded the fight in Duesseldorf 115-112, 115-112 and 116-111 by the judges to take Klitschko’s WBA, IBF, IBO and WBO belts as the Ukrainian suffered his first defeat since 2004.
The new champion celebrate his victory by signing Aerosmith’s “Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” in the ring.
“I want to thank my lord and saviour Jesus Christ for giving me this victory,” said a tearful Fury who has now won all 25 of his professional fights.
“I have worked hard everyday for this moment, it’s a dream come true.”
Klitschko said there is a rematch clause in the fight contract, adding it was too soon to talk about retirement and admitted he was surprised by Fury’s speed despite his towering 2.06m frame.
“I prepared well, but my speed was missing tonight and I didn’t expect the speed from him,” said Klitschko, who turns 40 in May.
“I knew I needed a knock-out at the end,” he added after his fourth professional defeat.
Fury will cash in on the victory regardless of the fight purse having bet £200,000 on himself.

AFP

Appeal Court Sacks Former Senate President David Mark From Senate

Appeal Court Sacks Former Senate President David Mark From Senate

The Benue state division of the Nigerian Court of Appeal sitting in Makurdi on Saturday nullified the election of former Senate President David Mark in a ruling delivered by Justice Olabisi Ige.

The appellate court upheld the six grounds of appeal brought against the judgment of the lower tribunal which had last month affirmed the election of Mark.

In ruling on the appeal brought by Daniel Onjeh, the South Benue Senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Justice Ige ruled that the election of Mr. Mark was fraught with so many irregularities that it failed all tests of “freeness and fairness”.

In particular, the court noted that Mr. Mark’s election results had been pre-written on March 28 before proper collation and announcement was made on March 30. The appeal panel ruled that a fresh election be conducted in 90 days in the senatorial zone.

Onjeh had on 20 October taken his case to the Appeal court after the election tribunal dismissed his case against Mark, a former president of the Nigerian senate.

Onjeh’ s case was that the victory of Mark for the Benue South Senatorial seat was marred by violence and rigging .

He alleged that INEC officials were compromised and voters financially induced by the PDP agents at the various polling units in the district .

The petitioner also alleged that accreditation of voters was not properly done and claimed that card readers were not used while accreditation did not hold in some polling units.

But the tribunal, led by Mosunmola Dipeolu , a Lagos judge , dismissed the case in its entirety for want of proofs .

In the judgment delivered on Oct 7, 2015 Dipeolu dismissed the petition on the ground that the petitioner failed to discharge the burden of proof placed on him by law .

But in his appeal , Onjeh contended that the tribunal failed to consider and make necessary findings of fact on all the vital issues raised in the petition .

He also averred that the tribunal erred by departing from its earlier decision in a similar case where it declared that collation of votes after declaration and return on certain votes was irregular.

He also said that the tribunal erred by failing to consider his final written address and determine the relevant arguments proffered in it.

The petitioner insisted that the tribunal had miscarried justice in spite of the evidence placed before it .

He, therefore , urged the appellate court to invoke the provision of Section 15 of the Court of Appeal Act and review the evidence in his petition so as to overturn the decision of the lower court .

He is also Nigeria’ s longest -serving senator. He was elected in 1999 , and re -elected in 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015 . He served as president of the senate for eight years. 

APC picks Yahaya Bello as Audu’s replacement

APC picks Yahaya Bello as Audu’s replacement

After extensive consultations, the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday submitted the name of Yahaya Bello as the party’s new candidate for Kogi governorship supplementary poll.
Bello replaces Prince Abubakar Audu, who died last weekend after leading the poll with 41,000.

It was also learnt that the APC has retained Hon. James Abiodun Faleke as the party’s deputy governorship candidate.

Mohammed Audu, the son of the late governorship candidate, was dumped by the party because the party felt that fielding him might vitiate the entire governorship poll in the state.

But the people of Kogi West were mounting pressure on Faleke yesterday not to accept the nomination of Bello.

Although they asked Faleke to withdraw from the race, the deputy governorship candidate was yet to make up his mind on the next step at press time.

Investigation by our correspondent revealed that APC leaders, with the backing of some forces in the Presidency, opted for Bello because he came second in the party’s primaries behind Audu.

It was also gathered that the APC leaders felt there was no way Mohammed Audu could be fielded as a compromise candidate since he was not a candidate in the primaries.

A top source in APC said: “Our leaders met and after consultations reached a conclusion on the choice of Yahaya Bello from Kogi Central as the party’s governorship candidate to substitute the late Prince Abubakar Audu.

“The leaders arrived at the conclusion because Bello was second to Audu at the validly conducted governorship primaries of the party. Instead of running into crisis with fresh primaries, the party opted to dust up the result of the previous one which was witnessed by INEC.

“A letter, signed by the National Chairman of APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, on the choice of Bello has been submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday.”

Asked of other factors behind the choice of Bello, the top APC leader said: “Our leaders bought into the idea that Faleke is strange to the politics of the state, having had most of his political career in Lagos. They felt it is better for him to learn the ropes in the state before becoming a governor.

“They also argued that the choice of Bello will ensure power shift in the state and since the Ebiras were behind Audu, it won’t be difficult to foster understanding between Kogi East and Kogi Central Senatorial Districts.

“Do not forget that Kogi East had already produced the minister from the state.

“Another important factor is that some of the 91 polling units where elections were cancelled are in Kogi Central, and it will be easier to mobilize the electorate in the district to get the required votes to defeat the PDP candidate, Governor Idris Wada.

“There was also some conspiracy behind the refusal of the ticket for Faleke. Some presidency forces stamped their feet that he must not be allowed to step into Audu’s shoes because of internal power struggles in APC.

“I won’t give you names but the forced were more powerful than Oyegun and other NWC members.”

On the dumping of Mohammed Audu, the source said: “Our leaders were guided by Section 141 of the Electoral Act. If we choose him, the entire election will be voided.

“The section says: ‘An election tribunal or court shall not under any circumstance declare any person a winner at an election in which such a person has not fully participated in all the stages of such election.

“We love the Audus but we cannot take such a big risk. If Wada and PDP go to court, they will win against Mohammed Audu.”
As press time, there was pressure on Faleke by the people of Kogi West to opt out of the race.

A different source said: “There are many options open to Faleke but the people of Kogi West want him to withdraw from the race. If Yahaya Bello gets the ticket, he might be reduced to a dummy deputy governor.

“Unless Faleke can fight his cause in court and claim his mandate, he will be frustrated as a deputy governor. If he quits, the party will have justification for bringing Mohammed Audu and Kogi West will be politically alienated.”

Kogi East nominates Audu’s son as APC guber candidate

Kogi East nominates Audu’s son as APC guber candidate

Leaders of All Progressives Congress (APC), in Kogi East Senatorial District has nominated Mr Mohammed, 43, first son of Late Prince Abubakar Audu, to replace him as the party’s governorship candidate.

The leaders, stakeholders and delegates who made this known in Lokoja on Thursday after a marathon meeting, said they arrived at the decision after due consultations.
Their spokesman, Mr Daniel Isah, the Vice Chairman of APC in Kogi East, said they have resolved and are determined to back Mohammed to replace his father if the National Working Committee orders fresh primaries.

Isah thanked the Independent National Electoral Commission and the national leadership of the party for the opportunity given to them to find a replacement for Audu who died on Nov. 23 at Ogbonicha, Ofu Local Government.

He appealed to the national leadership of the party to give their decision utmost consideration and approval in the overall interest of the party and the state.

Present at the meeting were Alhaji Lincho Ocheje, Hon. Hassan Omale, Hon. Benjamin Ikhani, and Sen. Emmanuel Dangana, among others.

PDP to INEC: Declare Wada as winner of Kogi election Wada . . . Seeks APC’s exclusion from supplementary poll

PDP to INEC: Declare Wada as winner of Kogi election Wada     . . . Seeks APC’s exclusion from supplementary poll

The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare its candidate, Governor Idris Wada, as the winner of the November 21 governorship election in Kogi State.
The party is also seeking the exclusion of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the supplementary election slated for December 5. The INEC had declared the election inconclusive following the cancellation of the poll in 91 units across 18 local government areas in the state.
The party’s position was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of its national caucus meeting held in Abuja Wednesday night.
The communiqué, signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, insisted that with the death of the APC’s candidate, Prince Abubakar Audu , during the election, the APC has legally “crashed out” of the race.
Audu had died on Sunday, while the results of the election were still being collated. He had won in 16 out of the 21 local government areas in the state and leading the PDP candidate with over 41,000 votes.
The INEC has declared the election inconclusive, citing irregularities and violence that led to the cancellation of the election in 91 polling units across 18 LGAs.
The electoral body had declared the election inconclusive and offered to conduct supplementary election in units where the election was cancelled. It had also given the APC a window to field a substitute candidate for the supplementary poll.
But the PDP condemned the INEC’s position, saying no known law or constitutional provision allowed the substituting of candidates, once the ballot process has commenced. The party has threatened to challenge INEC’s decision in court.
“The PDP completely rejects the decision of INEC in yielding to the unlawful prompting of a clearly partisan Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Mallam Abubakar Malami, to allow APC to substitute a candidate in the middle of an election, even when such has no place in the Constitution and the Electoral Act.
“With the unfortunate death of Prince Abubakar Audu, the APC has no valid candidate in the election, leaving INEC with no other lawful option than to declare the PDP candidate, Capt. Idris Wada, as the winner of the election,” the communiqué said.

JAMB rejects Senate’s call for UTME result extension

JAMB rejects Senate’s call for UTME result extension

The recommendation by the Senate that all results for entry into tertiary institutions should last for three years will distort and delay the future of students across the country, the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board has stated.
The organisation therefore said it would be in the interest of the public for stakeholders to answer critical questions regarding such a policy.
The Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, said this in Abuja during the opening ceremony of JAMB-UNEB Benchmark on Item Banking.
He argued that such a policy would obstruct the education progress of students across board.
Ojerinde said that expressing reservations about the Senate position did not in any way signify opposition to cutting cost.
He said, “There are complexities in this thing, until we are able to clear it. When you say you will use JAMB results for three years, is it an achievement test or aptitude test? However, are we delaying his or her life? Are we postponing his or her life by telling them to stay at home? If by next year he doesn’t get the cut off points, what happens?
“I have nothing against the idea, because we will tell the children, ‘those bluffing Polytechnics and College of Education, go there and waste their time’, if it is a waste of time.”
Ojerinde also informed journalists that cyber cafés across the country would no longer be allowed to register candidates for tertiary education examinations.
“In the final analysis, cyber cafes are not allowed to register candidates for a number of reasons. Cyber cafés may have their address here today, tomorrow they are somewhere else,” he emphasised.
He stated that if registration code was given to cyber cafés, they may mess the process up, thereby, creating crisis for JAMB.
The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, represented by the Director of Tertiary Education, Hajia Hindatu Abdullahi, stated that “the results of large scale examinations conducted by examination bodies, such as JAMB, NECO and NABTEB, are necessary for decision making and should therefore be credible.”
She said, “Consequently, the deployment of technology is very imperative if the results must be reliable. The role of technology in education cannot be over emphasised. Electronic item banking is consequent on the use of technology for item analysis and calibration.”

Report from Punch