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We’ll Not Reveal Members of Supreme Court Panel for Atiku’s Case – Judiciary
The judiciary has resolved to keep a lid on the members of the Supreme Court panel who will hear the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, challenging the verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT), which upheld the election of President Muhammadu Buhari. The appeal is scheduled for hearing on Wednesday.
The appellants had approached the court shortly after the September 11 verdict with 66 reasons why the apex court should upturn the tribunal’s decision. The five-man panel had in its lead judgment delivered by its chairman, Justice Mohammed Garba, held that the petitioners failed to prove their allegations against Buhari and subsequently dismissed the petitions for being incompetent and lacking in merit.
The countdown to the appeal has however been shadowed by public interest in who the members would be and when they would be unveiled.But a source close to the apex court yesterday told The Guardian that the composition of the panel would remain shrouded in mystery. According to the insider, not even the members of the panel would have the faintest whiff of their involvement, as the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, has vowed to mask all details “until the 11th hour.”
Bothered by the silence, the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) yesterday regretted that over 45 days after the tribunal’s verdict, the Supreme Court is yet to constitute the appeal panel.“The development is very worrisome to the opposition political parties, as critical stakeholders in the nation’s democracy,” the CUPP said in a statement by its spokesperson, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere.
“The CUPP calls on well-meaning Nigerians and lovers of democracy to prevail on the Supreme Court to do the needful on this matter before it is too late, by ensuring that the integrity and public confidence in the apex court is not destroyed.“We insist that we shall declare a total lack of confidence in any panel constituted in violation of the age-long order of seniority. The apex court must be ready to be on the side of the people in saving this nation and its democracy.”
Atiku and PDP in their 95-page appeal are urging the Supreme Court to set aside all the decisions of the tribunal, saying it erred in reaching the conclusion that the petitioners failed to prove their case against the respondents.The petitioners had hinged their case on the allegation that Buhari lied on oath on his Form CF001, which he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), seeking clearance to contest the position of president in the election.
With INEC, Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) as respondents, other allegations in the petition included election irregularities and substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act and guidelines during the elections.
But the tribunal ruled that Buhari was “eminently qualified” to contest the poll.In the appeal therefore, the petitioners held that the panel erred in law by stating that Buhari was eligible. They also accused the panel of defending Buhari.
In ground one of the appeal, Atiku and PDP held that the tribunal erred in law when it relied on “overall interest of justice” to hold that Buhari’s documents were properly admitted in evidence. They noted that the documents, which bordered on his certificates, were not pleaded and were not front-loaded.
The appellant, on ground two, challenged the part of the ruling, which held that Buhari does not need to attach his certificates to his Form CF 001. They submitted that the tribunal gave restrictive interpretation to Section 76 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) to exclude Form CF001 from its provisions.
“The conduct of election by the first respondent starts with the screening of candidates. No candidate can be screened unless he completes Form CF001 (Exhibit P1). In Form CF001, under the column for ‘Schools Attended/Educational Qualification with dates’, there is the clear provision for attaching evidence of all educational qualifications.”
The appellants said: “Certificates are evidence of educational qualifications.” They went further to accuse the tribunal of attaching evidential value to the military statement on Buhari’s certificate. Thus making a case for him after rejecting the same document for lack of probative value.They maintained that the crucial issue in their case was that the purported claim by Buhari that his “Primary School Leaving Certificate, WASC and Officer Cadet” are
with the Secretary of the Military Board is false.
The appellants also faulted the tribunal on the variation in the name of Buhari, asking whether Mohammed, Muhammed or Muhammadu referred to one and the same person. They argued that Buhari neither claimed in his pleadings nor showed evidence that at any time, he was known as “Mohammed Buhari.”
The Guardian
The Senate has granted approval to the ₦1.77 trillion ($2.2b) loan request of President Bola Tinubu after a voice vote in favor of the request.
The Senate presided by Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, approved the loan after the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts chaired by Senator Wammako Magatarkada (APC, Sokoto North) presented the report of the committee.
The request which was submitted by the President on Tuesday is part of a fresh external borrowing plan to partially finance the N9.7 trillion budget deficit for the 2024 fiscal year.
Tinubu had on Tuesday written to the National Assembly, seeking approval of a fresh N1.767 trillion, the equivalent of $2.209 billion as a new external borrowing plan in the 2024 Appropriation Act.
The fresh loan is expected to stretch the amount spent on debt servicing by the Federal Government. The Central Bank of Nigeria recently said that it cost the Federal Government $3.58 billion to service foreign debt in the first nine months of 2024.
The CBN report on international payment statistics showed that the amount represents a 39.77 per cent increase from the $2.56bn spent during the same period in 2023.
According to the report, while the highest monthly debt servicing payment in 2024 occurred in May, amounting to $854.37m, the highest monthly expenditure in 2023 was $641.70m, recorded in July.
The trend in foreign debt servicing by the CBN highlights the rising cost of debt obligations by Nigeria.
Further breakdown of international debt figures showed that in January 2024, debt servicing costs surged by 398.89 per cent, rising to $560.52m from $112.35m in January 2023. February, however, saw a slight decline of 1.84 per cent, with payments reducing from $288.54m in 2023 to $283.22m in 2024.
March recorded a 31.04 per cent drop in payments, falling to $276.17m from $400.47m in the same period last year. April saw a significant rise of 131.77 per cent, with $215.20m paid in 2024 compared to $92.85m in 2023.
The highest debt servicing payment occurred in May 2024, when $854.37m was spent, reflecting a 286.52 per cent increase compared to $221.05m in May 2023. June, on the other hand, saw a 6.51 per cent decline, with $50.82m paid in 2024, down from $54.36m in 2023.
July 2024 recorded a 15.48 per cent reduction, with payments dropping to $542.50m from $641.70m in July 2023. In August, there was another decline of 9.69 per cent, as $279.95m was paid compared to $309.96m in 2023. However, September 2024 saw a 17.49 per cent increase, with payments rising to $515.81m from $439.06m in the same month last year.
Given rising exchange rates, the data raises concerns about the growing pressure of Nigeria’s foreign debt obligations.
Channels TV
Self acclaimed leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Simon Ekpa, has been arrested by law enforcement in Finland.
The BBC reports that Ekpa was subsequently sent to prison by the district court of Päijät-Häme for “spreading terrorist propaganda on social media”.
Ekpa was said to have committed the crime in 2021 in Lahti municipality.
The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) also arrested four other men over alleged terrorist offences.
A citizen of Finland and Nigeria, Ekpa has described himself as leader of the separatist IPOB group since Nnamdi Kanu’s incarceration.
Finnish police say Ekpa’s activities and social media rhetoric may have fanned the flames of violence in the south-east of Nigeria.
“He carries out these activities from his social media channels, for example,” said Otto Hiltunen, detective chief inspector of the NBI.
In February 2023, Ekpa was arrested by police at his residence in Lahti but was released after hours of questioning.
Using his social media channels, Ekpa had directed Igbos not to participate in Nigeria’s 2023 general election.
In September 2021, the Biafra agitator and secessionist denounced Nigeria and vowed to return the medal he won for the country at the 2003 African Junior Athletics Championships.
The Court of Appeal has sacked Musiliu Akinsanya aka MC Oluomo as the National President of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).
In a ruling that upheld the earlier judgment of the National Industrial Court, the appellate court sacked MC Oluomo and reaffirmed Tajudeen Baruwa as the legitimate leader of the union.
Baruwa had assumed office after a properly conducted election held at the union’s headquarters in Abuja.
The three-member panel of the Appeal Court dismissed the appeal filed by MC Oluomo’s faction, declaring it devoid of merit.
In addition, the court imposed a fine of N100,000 on the appellants, further solidifying Baruwa’s leadership position.
Reports quoting court documents said to have been released on Friday detailed the ruling, which effectively countered any attempts to displace Baruwa from his role as the NURTW president.
The judgment read: “This is an appeal against the judgment/decision of the National Industrial Court Sitting in Abuja, in Suit No. NICN/ABJ/263/2023, delivered on the 11th March, 2024, by Justice O. O. Oyewumi.
“Upon reading the Record of Appeal compiled and transmitted before this court, together with the respective briefs of argument, and after hearing the counsels for the appellants and respondents, it is hereby ordered that:
“This Appeal is devoid of merit, and the same is hereby dismissed.”
The ruling reinforces the legitimacy of Baruwa’s presidency, concluding the legal dispute over the union’s leadership.
Meanwhile, MC Oluomo’s son Idowu Akinsanya (King West) had bragged about his feat of emerging the NURTW president, saying: “We are now in charge of Nigeria, not only Lagos,” a comment that attracted public opprobrium.
MC Oluomo, a diehard supporter of President Bola Tinubu and a prominent figure in Lagos politics, was the sole candidate in the election, which took place at the union’s zonal secretariat in Osogbo. His perceived victory was deemed to carry significant implications for the future of the NURTW and the political landscape of Nigeria.
