Metro
Nnamdi Kanu heads to Appeal Court, condemns Justice Nyako’s ruling, DSS action
The legal team of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has appealed the ruling of the Abuja Federal High Court before the Appeal Court.
Kanu’s legal team led by its Lead Counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, expressed dissatisfaction with the ruling of Justice Binta Nyako of the Abuja Federal High Court of March 19, 2024.
The team informed the Appeal Court that the lower court erred when it denied Kanu’s constitutional rights to fair trial.
They pointed out that the Department of State Services, DSS, also failed to provide adequate “facilities to prepare for the defence of the criminal allegations against the Appellant and his right to counsel of his own choice, thereby occasioning a grave miscarriage of justice.”
A notice of appeal filed by Ejimakor with charge No: FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015, reads: “TAKE NOTICE that the Appellant being dissatisfied with the Ruling of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division coram: B.F.M Nyako, J. delivered on the 19th March, 2024 doth hereby appeal to the Court of Appeal Abuja upon the grounds set out in Paragraph 3 below and will at the hearing of the appeal seek reliefs as set out in Paragraph 4 hereof from the Court of Appeal.
“The Learned trial Court erred in law when the Court assumed jurisdiction to proceed with the hearing of the criminal trial against the Appellant when the Appellant is glaringly denied the constitutional right to fair trial with particular reference to denial of adequate facilities to prepare for the defence of the criminal allegations against the Appellant and his right to counsel of his own choice, thereby occasioning a grave miscarriage of justice.
“Fair hearing/trial bears the constitutional safeguards of ensuring that the Appellant is accorded the adequate facilities to prepare for the defence of the criminal allegations levelled against the Appellant.
“The denial of the Appellant the opportunity to interact and brief his counsel on what line of defences the Appellant tends to agitate in the trial court and rely on was adequately brought to the attention of the trial Court by Motion.
“The trial Court failed and neglected to make necessary orders that would protect the Appellant’s aforesaid rights but rather held that the Court cannot dictate how the Respondent carries out its work.
“The trial Court has the powers to order the Respondent (being the detaining authority) to cease and desist from interfering with Appellant’s constitutional/fair hearing right to adequate facilities to prepare defence and his right to counsel of his choice; and where it is impossible to do so or where the Respondent persists, the trial court has the power to order an alternative custodial arrangement or non-custodial arrangement for the Appellant.
“Denial of the Appellant’s right to adequate facilities to prepare defence as enshrined in Section 36 (6) (b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 is a jurisdictional issues in the absence of which the trial Court cannot assume or proceed with the jurisdiction over the case unless and until such facilities are accorded to the Appellant.”
The legal team also accused the trial judge of erring when she held that “I cannot make orders directing a security agency on how to do their work.
“I can only direct that whatever is within the law must be allowed to the Defendant. Counsel cannot direct the court or give condition to the court on how to conduct its business.
“The Defendant is entitled to a counsel of his choice and should be given the facility to conduct an interview with his counsel within the confines of the law.”
Kanu by a notice of preliminary objection prayed the court to find and hold that trial in the case cannot proceed except, the “respondent stopped the unconstitutional acts of forcibly seizing and photocopying confidential legal documents brought to the Appellant by the Appellant’s lawyers meant for the Appellant’s defence of the charges against the appellant.
“Stopped eavesdropping on the Appellant’s confidential consultation/conversations with the Appellant’s counsel which discussion is aimed at preparing the Appellant for his defence.
“The Respondent denied counsel to the Appellant the right to take notes; denied them the rights to transmit messages and information to the Appellant; secretly took pictures of counsel and the Appellant’s interviews and recorded briefings between the Appellant’s lawyers and the Appellant, scanned documents meant for the Appellant from the Appellant’s team of lawyers and even refused to allow lawyers to the Appellant deliver letters to the Appellant.
“The action of the Respondent in the instant case is a flagrant violation of the appellant’s right to counsel of his own choice as stipulated in Section 36 (6) (c) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).”
Also, Kanu’s team accused Justice Nyako of erring in law when she ordered for accelerated hearing of the case given the facts of the case showing that the respondent had consistently refused to afford the Appellant the right to adequate facility to prepare for the defence of the charges levelled against the Appellant and his right to counsel, and thereby occasioned miscarriage of justice against the Appellant and in favour of the Respondent.
They insisted that the judge “cannot order accelerated hearing of a criminal charge where it is brought to the attention of the Court that the Appellant is denied the adequate facilities to prepare his defence and his right to counsel.”
“The order for accelerated hearing of the case in face of the constitutional breaches of fair hearing/trial rights of the Appellant is a credence to the Respondent to proceed on the unconstitutional denial of the Appellant his right to adequate facilities to prepare for his defence and his right to counsel of his choice,” they added.
Source: DAILY POST
The Ondo State Security Network Agency also known as Amotekun Corps has paraded 21 suspected criminals in the state over alleged criminal activities.
Parading the suspects on Tuesday at the headquarters of the command in Akure, the state commander of the corps, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye, said the suspects were arrested at different locations across the state.
According to him, among the suspects were two kidnapping suspects -Umaru Mohammed and Ahmadu Illiyan, who were arrested at the point of receiving ransom for the victims earlier abducted and are currently providing the corps with useful information that might lead to the arrest of their accomplices.
He said “Today we are parading 21 suspected criminals that were picked up in various local government areas of the state. Among those paraded today were suspected kidnappers who around the places where ransom were paid, were picked up and are already giving us useful information.
“We also have those who specialize in kidnapping and stealing of okada from innocent okada riders. They will ride behind them, hit them with heavy weapons, steal and dismembered their bike. We were able to apprehend the master mind who came all the way from Benin ( Edo State) for the operation and serious manhunt is going on for his accomplices.
“We have Olanusi Adurayemi and Kabiru Mustapha, who are armed robbery suspects; then Umaru Mohammed and Ahmadu Illiyan suspected kidnappers. So the 21 suspects are profiled and ready to proceed to court after investigations.”
The Amotekun boss warned the people of the state against buying cheap and fairly used hand equipment, saying failure to do so would make them be arrested alongside the thieves.
He also admonished the people of the state not to relent in providing the corps with credible and credible information that will led to the arrest of the criminals.
The Borno State Government has announced the closure of all government and private schools for two weeks due to floods being experienced across the state.
A statement released by the Ministry of Education Science, Technology and Innovation on Monday, said the closure follows a visit tour to the Alo dam, a major water reservoir with sources from Lake Chad.
The Alo damn Bank have suffered leakages due to high rainfall leading to floods in most communities along riverine and flood-prone areas.
This is as the 2024/2025 academic session resumed on September 9, 2024.
The statement signed by the Acting Director of Schools Services, Grema Bulama, said the visit by the SSG Bukar Tijjani was at the instance of the State Governor Prof Babagana Zulum to determine the true state of the dam which has been a major source of water supply, as well as the cause of flood in past years to the State Capital.
The development comes as both Edo and Kano State also announced an indefinite closure of schools due to the current hike in prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol.
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in the Federal Capital Territory has reported that vandals have caused an estimated N5 million in damages to public infrastructure in Abuja.
The FCT Commandant, Olusola Odumosu, made this announcement during a press briefing on Monday following the arrest of 13 individuals suspected of vandalising critical national assets.
The suspects, apprehended between 7 and 9 September 2024, were involved in the destruction of street light cables, billboards, armoured electrical cables, and iron rods across various parts of the capital.
“We have 13 suspects arrested in different parts of the FCT between Saturday, 7 September 2024, and the early hours of Monday, 9 September 2024.
“Following intense surveillance and patrols, as well as a tip-off, the intelligence personnel working with the Critical National Assets and Infrastructure Department combed various parts of the city and arrested the 13 suspects,” the commandant said.
The NSCDC estimates the value of the targeted items to be approximately N5 million.
Odumosu noted, “The economic value of the vandalised infrastructure is estimated at five million naira only.”
Among the areas affected were key locations such as the Kukwaba railway overhead bridge and Nnamdi Azikiwe Way.
The command also recovered a range of stolen materials from the suspects, including motorcycles, shovels, armoured cables, billboards, and iron rods.
Odumosu vowed that the NSCDC would intensify efforts to protect the city’s assets and warned criminals to desist from their activities or face the full force of the law.
He further stated that investigations are ongoing and that the suspects will be prosecuted.
Additionally, efforts are being made to track and apprehend buyers involved in the resale of the stolen items.
“The selling points of these items are already known, and the buyers will soon be apprehended. At the conclusion of investigations, the suspects will be charged in court so that justice may take its course.
“Once again, I want to warn all criminally minded persons residing in the FCT to do themselves a favour by either desisting from criminal acts or relocating from Abuja, as we will leave no stone unturned in fishing them out and ensuring they are brought to justice,” he added.
Unidentified gunmen suspected to be bandits in their large numbers have kidnapped two nurses and an unspecified number of patients from the Primary Healthcare Centre at Kuyallo, eastern part of Birnin-Gwari LGA of Kaduna State.
The hoodlums were said to have targeted the nearby Government Day Secondary School, at 9:00 am on Monday. However, upon finding the school empty, they stormed the closest health centre.
According to Musa Alhassan, a leader of a local vigilante group in the area, the bandits, who were seeking to abduct students, instead took two female nurses and several patients hostage, leaving the community in a state of panic.
He said, “The bandits came to the school around 9:00 am, asking about the students, but when they found out the school was empty, they went to the healthcare centre and started kidnapping people.
“The exact number of patients kidnapped is still unknown.”
An eyewitness further revealed that the bandits came into the healthcare centre wielding guns and machetes and dragged people out of the hospital.
DAILY POST recalls that bandits had attacked a community in Kaduna State last week friday.
This incident is the latest in a series of attacks by bandits in the state.
However, there is no official statement yet on the incident from the state government.
A man identified as Amadi Alozie has been apprehended by youths in Umudosi, a community in Obingwa LGA of Abia State, for allegedly killing his mother with cutlass.
He is also being held for allegedly cutting the genital of his son for suspected ritual purposes.
The Umudosi indigene pounced on his little son and cut his genital, which made the boy to scream and attracted Mrs Alozie, the mother of the suspect, who rushed in to know why her grandson was crying out.
But on noticing that his mother had found out his evil act, the suspect was alleged to have immediately drawn a cutlass which he used to inflict deep cuts on his mother, which resulted in her death.
The son who was attacked by his father has been rushed to the hospital.
After attacking his mother, Amadi Alozie tried to escape but was apprehended by youths of the community, who handed him over to the police for investigation and prosecution.
The ugly development has thrown the community into confusion about what pushed the young man into such crimes.
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of Abia State Police Command, ASP Maureen Chinaka, said: ” We have such reports at Eastern Ngwa Divisional Headquarters. However, the victim has been rushed to the hospital, the suspect is in custody, investigation is ongoing.”
Villagers of Kwatarkwashi district in Bungudu Local Government area of Zamfara State had on Friday killed a suspected bandit along the Gusau -Zaria highway.
According to a villager who pleaded anonymity, community members recognized the suspected bandit as one of the suspects terrorizing the area, chased him and killed him.
According to him, after killing the bandit, the villagers recovered two sophisticated guns in his possession.
“The body of the murdered bandit was abandoned along Gusau-Zaria highway even as residents went about their legitimate business”, he added.
Recall that a few days ago, two suspected informers were also intercepted along the Kura area, a few metres from the scene of the incident.
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