Headlines
Again, FG Loses to Nnamdi Kanu, Ordered to Return IPOB Leader to Kenya, Pay N500m
A Federal High Court sitting in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, has ordered the Federal Government to pay the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, the sum of N500 million as damages following his illegal abduction and human rights abuse from Kenya.
The Court also ordered the Federal government to return him to Kenya from where he was extradited to Nigeria on June 19, 2021.
The Court presided by Justice E . N Anyadike, insisted that the extradition of Kanu from Kenya without recourse to the legal process was a flagrant abuse of his fundamental human rights.
He held that the respondent failed to disprove the claims of the applicant that he was arrested, blindfolded, tortured, and chained to the ground for eight days in Kenya before his extradition to Nigeria.
Kanu, through his special Counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, had approached the court challenging his extradition from Kenya on June 19, 2022.
Ejimakor told the court that the suit is sui generis (of a special class) and was primarily aimed at redressing the infamous unlawful expulsion or extraordinary rendition of Kanu, which is a clear violation of his fundamental rights under Article 12(4) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, as well as Chapter IV of the Nigerian Constitution.
He said, ‘In addition to the rendition, I am asking the Court to redress the myriad violations that came with the rendition, such as the torture, the unlawful detention and the denial of the right to fair hearing which is required by law before anybody can be expelled from one country to the other.
“I am also seeking to halt his prosecution and restore him to the status quo before his rendition on 19th June 2021.
“You will recall that on January 19, 2022, the High Court of Abia State decided that portion of violation of Kanu’s fundamental rights that occurred in 2017. Even as I had made claims that bordered on rendition, the Court declined jurisdiction on grounds that rendition, being related to extradition, lies within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal High Court. This is what informed my decision to initiate the suit before the Federal High Court.
“To be sure, the extraordinary rendition of Nnamdi Kanu, triggered myriad legal questions that cut across multiple jurisdictions in Nigeria and even triggered the international legal order, to boot. In other words, the rendition has expanded the matter of Kanu far beyond the realms of the Abuja trial and opened up new legal frontiers that must be ventilated to the hilt before other courts and tribunals within and without Nigeria.
“Thus, this very case before the Federal High Court in Umuahia is one of such that is aimed at seeking a definitive judicial pronouncement on the constitutionality of the extraordinary rendition. The ones in the United Kingdom, Kenya, African Union, and the United Nations are in addition.
“I would like to seize this opportunity to express my profound appreciation to the highly competent and hardworking team of lawyers that I am leading in the prosecution of this complex suit. Special mention must be made of Barristers Patrick Agazie, Ifeyinwa Nworgu, Tochukwu Arugbuonye, Franklin Amandi, Ohaeto Uwazie and Mandela Umegborogu”.
“For ease of reference and avoidance of any doubt, the following are the specific reliefs that I requested in the suit”.
Speaking to journalists shortly after the judgment, Ejimakor said the judgment had shown that the court still remains the last hope for the common man.
He called on the federal government to obey the court order and return Kanu to Kenya.
The Punch
Former Governor of Delta State, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential running mate in the 2023 election, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has dumped the PDP for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Okowa confirmed the news of his defection to ARISE NEWS on Wednesday following the announcement of the current governor of Delta State, Sheriff Oborevwori, who also defected from the PDP to the APC on Wednesday.
The development was disclosed by Senator James Manager after a six-hour meeting at Government House, Asaba.
“All PDP members in the state, including the governor, former Governor Okowa, the Speaker, the state party chairman, all the local government chairmen and others, have agreed to move to the APC,” Manager stated. “We cannot continue to be in a sinking boat.”
Delta State Commissioner for Information, Mr Aniagwu Charles, officially confirmed the sweeping political shift, attributing the decision to the need for renewed direction and enhanced governance in the state.
“There is a need for us to adjust our drinking patterns. And in adjusting that drinking pattern, we needed to make a decision that would further help to cement the development in our state,” he said.
Aniagwu added that the move aimed to sustain progress in law, security, and welfare, likening the PDP to a “palm wine whose taste has changed,” necessitating a change in “drinking party”.
He further indicated that the defection was unanimously agreed upon by key PDP leaders and stakeholders in the state, with a formal public declaration expected on Monday.
“By the grace of God, on Monday next week, we will be able to make a very big statement confirming that we are moving into the APC,” he said.
The mass defection represents a dramatic realignment in Delta State’s political landscape and could significantly alter party dynamics in the broader South-South region, historically a PDP stronghold.
Okowa will be received on Monday by Vice President Kashim Shettima alongside Governor Oborevwori.
AriseNews
Delta State governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori has defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The defection was announced after Wednesday’s closed-door meeting at the Government House in Asaba by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Sir Festus Ahon.
Ahon said the Governor’s decision to switch allegiance to the ruling APC came after thorough discussions with political stakeholders, aimed at fostering long-term development for Delta State.
Governor Oborevwori, who secured victory in the 2023 gubernatorial election under the platform of the PDP, was welcomed by high-ranking APC officials.
The National Assembly has taken a swipe at Pastor Tunde Bakare over his recent criticism of the country’s legislature, describing it as biased.
Bakare, the serving overseer of The Citadel Global Community Church, had on Sunday condemned the Senate’s suspension of Senator Natasha-Akpoti Uduaghan; the National Assembly’s ratification of the emergency rule in Rivers State.
“The two main contenders in the ongoing institutional immorality Olympics are the executive and the legislature,” he said.
But on Tuesday, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Yemi Adaramodu, said the cleric was biased and crossed the line in his commentary.
“While the Senate respects the right of every citizen – regardless of station – to express views on the state of the nation, we are constrained to respond when such commentary crosses the line into unwarranted invective and misleading assertions that risk eroding public trust in democratic institutions,” the statement by Adaramodu read.
Adaramodu said, “such commentary crosses the line into unwarranted invective and misleading assertions that risk eroding public trust in democratic institutions”.
“We view his corrosive criticisms of the National Assembly as a biased and political ecumenical homily,” the statement read.
“The challenges facing our country require dialogue anchored on truth, mutual respect, and a commitment to nation-building, not polarizing rhetoric that undermines confidence in our democratic institutions.”
“We are confident that, in time, with a nuanced review of the performance of the 10th national assembly — within the context of the exigencies of this time and season — Pastor Bakare may, at some point in the future, commend us for acting in the best interest of the people of Nigeria, in line with our constitutional mandate,” the Senator added.
