Headlines
Court Adjourns Nnamdi Kanu’s Trial Indefinitely
A team of government prosecutors led by the Director of Public Prosecution, Mr. M.B. Abubakar, on Monday alleged that the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, refused to present himself before the Federal High Court in Abuja for his planned re-arraignment.
“My lord, I understand that the defendant declined to come to court today.
“As of last week, the defendant was intimated of this sitting and he did not object. However, when I called the office this morning, I was informed that the defendant woke up and declined to come to court.
“All entreaties and pleas were made but he refused to come to court”, the government lawyer told the court.
Kanu’s legal team, however, said the allegation was strange as Kanu had never hidden his intention to always be in court.
“My lord, this is totally strange to me because this is a person that has never hidden his intention to always be in court. In fact, even in processes we filed at both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, the defendant said he would want to be present in court for hearing of all the matters,” Kanu’s legal team head, Mike Ozekhome, SAN, said.
Kanu is standing trial of amended seven counts of terrorism filed against him by the FG.
The court led by Justice Binta Nyako, however, adjourned the matter indefinitely.
In an update, Kanu’s lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, said, “The court per His lordship Hon. Justice Binta Nyako, is in agreement with us that it lacks the jurisdiction to entertain any further charge against Kanu, in view of the landmark judgment of the Court of Appeal.
“The matter was consequently adjourned sine die pending the outcome of the appeal at the Supreme Court. We are winning! Supreme Court here we come! No going back on ONYENDU’s freedom.”
“Our appeal to set aside the order staying the execution of Onyendu’s judgment will be fixed for hearing any moment from now.
We shall keep you all posted,” he said
The first hostages freed from Gaza under a long-awaited ceasefire agreement are back in Israel. The news sparked jubilant scenes in Tel Aviv where large crowds gathered ahead of their release.
The three freed Israeli hostages – the first of 33 to be released over the next six weeks – are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari. They are said to be in good health and are receiving treatment at a medical center in Tel Aviv.
In exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are set to be released by Israel from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military withdrew from several locations in southern and northern Gaza after the truce began earlier on Sunday, an Israeli military official told CNN.
Displaced Gazans have started returning to their homes, while the aid trucks laden with much-needed supplies have crossed into Gaza. Here’s what we know about how the ceasefire deal will work.
Hamas, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself, and a failure for Israel.
One of Hamas’ main goals for taking some 250 people during its brazen October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. As Israel pounded Gaza in response, Hamas vowed not to return the hostages until Israel withdrew its forces from the enclave, permanently ended the war, and allowed for rebuilding.
Source: CNN
The leader of UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has said she doesn’t want Britain to be like Nigeria that is plagued by “terrible governments.”
Speaking on Thursday at an event organised by Onward, a British think tank producing research on economic and social issues, Badenoch expressed fears that Britain may become like Nigeria if the system is not reformed.
“And why does this matter so much to me? It’s because I know what it is like to have something and then to lose it,” Badenoch told the audience.
“I don’t want Britain to lose what it has.
“I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer, despite working harder and harder as their money disappeared with inflation.
“I came back to the UK aged 16 with my father’s last £100 in the hope of a better life.
“So I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments that destroy lives, and I never, ever want it to happen here.”
Badenoch has been in the news of late after she dissociated herself from Nigeria, saying she has nothing to do with the Islamic northern region.
She also accused the Nigeria Police of robbing citizens instead of protecting them.
She said: “My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive.
“The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because I’m black, I say well…I remember the police stole my brother’s shoe and his watch.”
