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Appeal Court Nullifies Metuh’s Trial, Jail Term, Voids Dasuki’s Indictment
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The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Wednesday set aside the conviction of a former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Olisa Metuh, on the grounds of bias allegedly exhibited by the trial judge who sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment for money laundering charges in February 2020.
The three-man panel led by Justice Stephen Adah ordered a retrial of the case.
Justice Adah who read the lead judgment ordered that the case file be sent back to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court and be reassigned to another judge for retrial.
He directed that the matter could be retried by any judge of the Federal High Court but not the former judge, Justice Okon Abang, whom the Court of Appeal adjudged to have, by his utterances in his handling of the case, exhibited “manifest bias” against Metuh and his team of lawyers.
Justice Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja had on February 25, 2020, sentenced Metuh to seven years’ imprisonment after finding him and his firm, Destra Investment Limited, guilty of charges of money laundering involving the sum of N400m they received from the then National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.) in 2014 preparatory to the 2015 general elections.
The judge had also convicted and sentenced Metuh for transacting with $2m cash without going through a financial institution in violation of money laundering law.
Justice Abang also, in the judgment, indicted Dasuki for breach of trust and acts of corruption by his action of giving the sum of N400m to Metuh from the office of the NSA’s account without justification.
Metuh, his firm, and Dasuki had filed separate appeals against the judgment, accusing the trial judge of bias and alleging a breach of their rights to a fair hearing by the judge.
They quoted from the records of proceedings of the trial court, the perceived bias comments of the judge criticising Metuh and members of his legal team for allegedly making life difficult for him over his firm handling of the case.
Dasuki, who is standing trial before another court in respect of the handling of the funds of the NSA office ahead of the 2015 general elections, stated in his appeal that without being charged or allowed to defend himself in the case before Justice Abang, more than 10 indicting comments were made against him by the judge.
Although Dasuki, appeared as a defence witness subpoenaed by Metuh in the course of the trial, the ex-NSA said his indictment by the judge was a breach of his right to a fair hearing.
The three-man panel unanimously upheld the appeals on Wednesday.
Justice Adah held that from the records of the proceedings and the judgment produced by Metuh and his firm, “the trial judge has shown to the world by his utterances that he was biased against the appellants”.
He held that a judge “must not only do justice but must manifestly be seen to have done Justice. They must be seen to be fair to all parties and any evil spin of bias will invalidate the integrity of the proceedings,” he held.
He said the bias exhibited to by the trial judge led to a breach of their right to fair trial “and cannot be allowed to stand in order not to set a dangerous precedent
Delivering judgment on Dasuki’s appeal, Justice Adah held that the ex-NSA, not being a defendant in the trial or allowed to defend himself, the “damaging comments” made against him breached his right to a fair hearing.
He dismissed the objection by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s lawyer, Sylvanus Tahir, who argued that Dasuki had no right of appeal in the case as he was not a defendant on record at the trial.
One of Metuh’s lawyers, Emeka Etiaba (SAN), said his team would immediately commence the administrative process of getting the ex-PDP spokesperson released.
Etiaba said although they had wanted the case to be dismissed and not sent back for a retrial, they were vindicated that their allegation that the trial judge was biased was affirmed.
The EFCC’s counsel, Tahir could not immediately tell if the prosecution would pursue an appeal or the retrial ordered by the Court of Appeal.
The Punch
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Osun Guber Election: I’ll Call Trump If Anything Goes Wrong, Davido Warns
Afrobeats music singer, David Adeleke aka Davido, has said he will seek the intervention of United States President, Donald Trump, if anything goes wrong during the forthcoming Osun State governorship election.
The singer made the statement during a livestream hosted by content creator Carter Efe, where he discussed his interest in politics and his concerns about the conduct of elections in Nigeria.
Davido said he would consider joining politics when he is convinced that the country’s electoral system is transparent and allows voters to freely choose their leaders.
According to him, he is confident of emerging victorious in an election that is conducted fairly.
He said the lack of transparency remains one of the reasons he has not ventured into politics despite his interest.
“Until there’s transparency, then I can go ahead with politics because nobody can beat me in any election,” he said.
Davido added that he would be confident of winning if Nigerians were allowed to vote freely and have their votes properly counted.
He also expressed concern about the upcoming Osun governorship election, saying he was waiting to see how the exercise would be conducted.
“I want to see what they are going to do in Osun. We are waiting,” he said.
The singer then disclosed that he would reach out to Trump if he became dissatisfied with the electoral process in Osun.
Davido said he would tag and call the US president and, if necessary, take his concerns to the White House.
“I’ll tag Trump, I’ll call Trump, everybody. If they still don’t see anything, I’ll go in front of the White House and say, ‘Help us,’”
“Trump will just say, ‘I think there’s a Nigerian artiste sending me a message. Don’t worry, my message will be delivered.’he said.
He stressed that his threat should not be dismissed as a joke, adding that he expected his concerns to reach the US president.
Davido concluded by calling on those involved in the electoral process to allow the people of Osun State to freely determine their next governor.
“Leave Osun alone oo, leave it,” he said.
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Food for Living: Love What You Do (Pt. 1)
By Henry Ukazu
Destiny Friends,
The word ‘love’ is very significant. This is because of its descriptive power towDearards an action or feeling directed at someone or something. However, love means many things to many people, depending on one’s side of the divide.
Love is a beautiful thing. It is a beautiful experience and feeling when one gets it right. It breaks the heart when one loves someone and he/she is not loved back. Trust me, it really hits differently when one is loved in the manner they wished to be loved.
Love cuts all barriers of life, whether we are talking about purpose, health, academic, spirituality, finance, relationships, family, and career/vocation.
Let’s take a minute to dwell on the concepts of love as it relates to loving what one does.
Purpose:
Our purpose in life is much more important than our career. It’s instructive to note your profession is what you are trained to do as an attorney, doctor, engineer, accountant; your vocation is what one is paid to do as 9-5 work or skill work; but your ministry is your calling, that’s where you find your passion, your gift/talent. Our focus in life is to align our vocation, profession and ministry together.
Health:
If we love ourselves, we’ll pay attention to our health and that entails what we eat, how we exercise, and how we pay attention to our body. When we love our health, we’ll pay attention to what we do because our health will ultimately affect all we do.
Academic:
Loving what we do also affects our academics. It’s sad to see students who read majors they have no interest in just because of the job market. If one studies a major they don’t like, it will have an impact in their personal and professional lives. Imagine reading law when one’s interest is in accountancy, engineering or even Mass communication. The level of impact and fulfilment one gets studying a major they like is different from the impact they will deliver if they one don’t like the major. So, it’s advisable for one to study a major they have a strong interest in.
Spirituality:
Our spirituality plays an important role in what we do. We can’t succeed in life without the support of God. According to Evangelist Ebuka Obi, behind every successful man, there’s a spirit working for him. I totally agree with this saying because when you love what you do, the universe has a way of coming close and conspiring to make you succeed because it’s in alignment with God’s master plan and purpose for your life.
Finance
When we love what we do, it will have an influence on our finances especially when we are good at what we do. Everyone likes the best person who can do a job and that even entails paying for a premium service. One of the reasons why most people are poor is simply because they are not solving problems, even though they are solving problems, they are not solving the right problem, or they are not solving the right problem for the right people at the right places and time.
Relationships
To succeed in life, we must pay attention to our relationships because our relationships determine our network which ultimately determines our net worth. Loving what one does also entails being intentional in the people they let into their lives.
Family,
Family is the highest influence in a child’s life. When there is love in the family, the child will learn to love other people when they go outside. According to Mr. Okechukwu Ukazu, you can choose your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, and best friend, but you can’t choose your family. We don’t have control over who becomes our family either as parents or siblings because that’s how God designed it. Do you see why family is everything?
Career/vocation
Succeeding in life entails working in a profession or vocation we like. When we like what we are doing, and what we are doing like us, we shall be successful. It’s sad to see people working in jobs they don’t like just to pay the bills. It’s instructive to note that at creation God grants us talents and gifts to succeed in life, but because of the challenges of life, some of us now settle for something else. This is why some people are victims of defective success because as they climb the corporate ladder, one day, they will realize that they have gotten to the top only to realize they were climbing the wrong ladder of success.
Have you ever wondered why some people feel frustrated and depressed in life despite having resources at their disposal? It’s simply because they don’t like what they are doing. Loving what you do has a strong correlation to one’s physical and psychological and mental success in life.
In conclusion, to succeed, endeavor to love what you do.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design, Unleash Your Destiny and The Six Pillars of Succes . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
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Glo Records Largest Internet Subscriber Growth in Nigeria in May
Digital solution provider, Globacom, recorded the highest Internet subscriber growth among Nigeria’s major telecom companies for the month of May.
Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Nigeria’s total Internet users increased to 157 million in May, up from 154.3 million in April. That is a growth of 2.67 million users in one month.
Globacom led the market by adding about 1.2 million new Internet subscribers. This means Glo was responsible for almost half of all new Internet users in May.
The company’s subscriber base grew from 15.5 million in April to 16.8 million in May. Airtel came second with 1.07 million new users, moving from 54.8 million to 55.8 million. MTN added 382,894 users to reach 83.5 million.
T2 Mobile, formerly 9mobile, recorded no growth for the second month in a row. Its subscriber base remained at 802,534. This is despite its roaming agreement with MTN, which was approved almost a year ago to help T2 customers use MTN’s network in areas with poor coverage.
Industry experts say Glo’s strong growth is due to its ongoing network upgrade. Since last year, the company has been building new base stations, expanding its fibre network, and adding thousands of new 4G sites across cities and rural areas.
The upgrades have improved voice and data quality for customers, while Globacom remain committed to providing better network experience and affordable Internet services to more Nigerians.






