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SDP presidential aspirant says he will enthrone justice if elected

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A presidential hopeful under the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) Barrister Adewole Adebayo has promised to make Nigeria a nation where justice shall reign more than anywhere in the world if he is elected president. 

He indicated that the legal infrastructure in the country has been barricading justice which he promised to fix if he emerged president. 

Adebayo gave the indication when he hosted a team from the Hague Institute for Innovation of Law, led by the country Director in Nigeria, Ijeoma Nwafor in Abuja.
The aspirant said even though the society itself is not just, he will ensure that the law and the people dispensing justice do so by conscience. 
“But we can do justice outside of the law. The Nigerian constitution, gives you everything to do justice. Chapter 2 of the constitution, if we follow it, we will be the model country for justice,” Adebayo added that if he emerged president, the Nigerian justice system will change for the best. 
According to him, the best lawyers globally are trained to constitute obstacles to the delivery of justice, hence many lawyers have excluded poor Nigerians who think that justice was not for them, even when such legal entity dedicate resources to seek pro bono services for them.

“We need to help in our access to Justice. Just people in my society don’t have access to Justice and at a point, you will begin to lose a sense of entitlement to Justice.
“Sometimes we spent 20 years in court litigation, on two paragraphs agreement we spend 50 years determining whether someone is innocent or not. 
“Nigeria will be a model for justice if I become president. We must devote our resources towards ensuring that everyone have access to justice.

Adebayo stressed the need for Nigeria to get it right with its justice delivery system to serve as an example of the ”most just” society in the world.

“My measurement of a just society is what happens to the lowest person in the society. We need help in our access to justice, not because we don’t have access to justice but because the lowest people in my society do not have access to justice and when they do, it is even not affordable.” .

He explained that this had made Nigeria to be in urgent need for help for her people to access justice.

He noted that such perception has been unconsciously created and sustained over time by the less privileged who have concluded that the Justice system cannot offer them the legal representation they need.

Adebayo who emphasized that lawyers are trained to promote advocacy and deliver genuine justice to the people stressed that a country should define itself, not by its Gross Domestic Product or economic strength but by how justice is delivered to the downtrodden.

“We have to protect Justice because it is part of us, It is above us.We are secular. We’re trying to do the work of the Divine” he added.
Ijeoma Nwafor speaking earlier, pointed out that the outcome of her research so far has exposed the weakness of justice served in Nigeria.

One of the members of her delegation, the Founding Director of Hague Institute for Innovation, (HIIL), Dr. Samuel Muller pointed out that access to Justice in Nigeria needed to be developed by creating an environment where leaders in the Justice system could deliberate, set goals and develop modules for accessibility and dissemination of information under the legal system.

According to Dr Muller, data have shown that 5.1billion people in the world do not have adequate access to Justice, the whooping figure he said is two third of the world’s population at any given time.

He further explained that a little over one billion people do not have resolution for a civil administrative or criminal case that they have.

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Appeal Court Sacks Nasarawa speaker

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The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has sacked the Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Hon. Ibrahim Balarabe Abdullahi, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a judgement delivered on Tuesday, the court declared the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Hon. Sa’ad Abdullahi Ibrahim (Turakin-Opanda), as the rightful winner of the election for Umaisha/Ugya State Constituency.

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Appeal Court affirms Hyacinth Alia’s victory as Benue Governor

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Gov Hyacinth Alia
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The Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, on Monday, upheld the election of Hyacinth Alia as declared by INEC after the March 18th, 2023 election as governor of Benue State

The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the March 18 governorship election, Titus Uba, had approached the appellate court to set aside the judgment of the tribunal that upheld Alia’s election.

At the tribunal, Uba accused Alia’s deputy, Samuel Ode, of presenting a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) contrary to Section 182(1)(j) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended)

He also alleged that Alia’s name was submitted less than 180 days before the election date, and Ode was also not submitted to INEC after the party conducted a further re-run primary election.

A three-member panel of the tribunal, headed by Justice Ibrahim Karaye, dismissed the petition on the ground that it was a pre-election matter and was statute-barred.

Ruling on the appeal on Monday, the appeal court’s three-member panel led by Justice Onyekachi Aja Otisi held that Uba failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt the allegations of forgery against Ode

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As long as God remains on the throne our mandate will be preserved, says Mutfwang

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Gov Caled Mutfwang
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Plateau Governor, Caled Mutfwang spoken with confidence that as long as God remains on the throne, the people’s mandate will be preserved and protected as he reiterated his commitment to the rule of law, while assuring the people that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Mutfwang who was reacting to the Appeal Court judgement that sacked him on Sunday described the verdict as a temporary setback that will not deter him from repositioning the state.
“We have unwavering faith in the judiciary and the Constitution of Nigeria,” he added.
The Governor said he has instructed his legal team to file an appeal at the Supreme Court, admonishing citizens of the state and PDP supporters to remain calm.
Mutfwang gave the indication in a press statement signed by his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Gyang Bere, expressed optimism that the mandate overwhelmingly given to him by the citizens would be restored.
Mutfwang polled 525,299 votes in the March 18 governorship election in the state, while Goshwe polled 481,370 votes.
Goshwe challenged the victory of Mutfwang at the tribunal, claiming that the Governor was not validly nominated and sponsored by his Party, insisting there was non-compliance with the Electoral Act in the election.
In a unanimous decision, a three-member panel of the tribunal headed by Justice R. Irele-Ifijeh dismissed the petition for lacking in merit.

Displeased with the judgment, the APC candidate appealed the tribunal judgment.

The appellate court ruling on Sunday, led by Justice Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu, held that the PDP did not validly sponsor the Governor during the election.

She held that the Party violated a court order to conduct a valid Congress in that state’s 17 Local Government Areas.
She said there was no evidence that the PDP complied with a subsisting High Court order which had directed it to conduct a valid party congress before sponsoring the governorship and other candidates.
The court held that the issue of qualification is both a pre-election and a post-election matter contrary to the tribunal’s findings, which held that the appellant lacked the locus to contest the validity of the respondent.

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