Law
Labour Party debunks fake news that it’s Imo guber Candidate Achonu has been sacked
**Says no court recognized Apapa led faction, it’s candidates
The leadership of the Labour Party has debunked social media reports being circulated that its candidate in the Imo state governorship election, distinguished Senator Athan Achonu has been sacked by the Appeal Court.
A statement by party’s National Publicity Secretary Obiora Ifoh said upon investigation they found out that the fake news originated from the usual source, the camp of the Lamidi Apapa led renegades which has since ceased from being members of the Labour Party.
“For the purpose of clarification, you will recall that Apapa group had hoodwinked and arranged governorship primaries for two members of the Labour Party, namely Chief Ukaegbu Ikechukwu Joseph and Sir Basil Maduka, after which Ukaegbu won the contest.
“Maduka was piqued by the outcome of the fake primaries and had gone ahead to challenge the emergence of Ukaegbu. He sued both Ukaegbu and the “Labour Party”.
“Neither the authentic Labour Party led by Barrister Julius Abure nor its candidate Senator Athan Achonu was put on notice and were not aware of the situation.
“The case was decided on behalf of Ukaegbu against Maduka. The matter has nothing to do with the leadership of the party or the candidacy of Senator Achonu, a product of a properly conducted primaries by Abure led NWC.”
Explaining further, Mr.Ifoh said it is apparent that Chief Ukaegbu Ikechukwu Joseph mischievously misinterpreted the judgment of the said Federal High Court delivered on the 23″ day of June, 2023 by His Lordship, Hon Justice BO Quadirin Suit No FHC/OW/CS/28/2023.
He said the ruling categorically held that from the totality of all the considered argument and authorities “the plaintiff Sir Basil Maduka does not fall within the definition of an aspirant as it never participated in the process leading to the primary election nor took part in the primary election of the 1st Defendant LP.”
“With this judgement Chief Ukaegbu had gone to town declaring himself as the Labour Party candidate for the Imo governorship election. For emphasis, the court never pronounced him as the candidate of the Labour Party.
“No court has given judgement de-recognzing Barrister Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party up till today.
Meanwhile, He said the Labour Party appealed the Bayelsa court ruling on the ground that it lacked the jurisdiction to entertain a suit filed by the faction led by Abure without putting the leadership of the party known to law into notice. The case is still pending in the court. The matter is pending before the court.
“Senator Achonu was also not a party to the suit filed by Sir Maduka but on hearing about the matter before the Federal High Court, he sought to be joined as an interested party.
“However, the Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri on Friday re-emphasized the implication of lack of jurisdiction in a Motion for leave to appeal as an interested party and held that the Motion was filed out of time hence it lacked jurisdiction.
“To our greatest surprise Chief Ukaegbu Ikechukwu Joseph and his cohorts have flooded the social media with yet another propaganda and falsehood that Court of Appeal has declared him the candidate of Labour Party, in a matter he was neither the Plaintiff nor Appellant.
He said they took time to explain the trajectory because they have passed through this path a couple of times in the past. “Recall the incidence in Kano state Federal High Court where they distorted the judgement of the court and misinformed Nigerians over the Imo state governorship election.
“They have also attempted to buy judgement in an FCT court. The same faction had infamously attempted to snatch proceedings at the Presidential Election Petition Court, all to no avail.
“We are therefore asking the Chief Justice of Nigeria to visit severe consequences on these group of judicial marauders for serially distorting the noble judgements put together by our Lord Justices and for perpetually misinforming Nigerians.
“Their purpose is purely to discredit the judiciary and put a tar-brush on the image of the court. Their actions are contemptuous and must be checked before they upgrade the judicial embarrassment to obscenity.
According to the publicity secretary, Senator Achonu remains the Labour Party’s governorship candidate in Imo state as no court has stated otherwise.
“That the Independent National Electoral Commission has since published his name as the party’s candidate.
“That Chief Ukaegbu Ikechukwu Joseph is not the candidate of the Labour Party and that no court either Federal High Court or Court of Appeal ever declared him LP candidate.
“We therefore call on all our members, supporters and Obidient family to work for the election of Senator Achonu in the November governorship election as our in coming governor of Imo State.”
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) has indicated it will on Thursday, April 18, 2024 arraign a former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Adoza Bello before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
The antigraft agency said Bello will be arraigned before Justice Emeka Nwite alongside three other suspects, Ali Bello, Dauda Suleiman and Abdulsalam Hudu on 19- count charges bordering on money laundering to the tune of N80, 246,470, 088.88
The arraignment is being perfected following a warrant of arrest and enrolment order granted the EFCC by the court on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.
Count one of the charges reads: That you, Yahaya Adoza Bello, Ali Bello, Dauda Suliman, and Abdulsalam Hudu( Still at large), sometime, in February, 2016, in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired amongst yourselves to convert the total sum of N80, 246,470, 088.88 which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of your unlawful activity to wit, criminal breach of trust and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(a) and punishable under Section 15(3) of the Money Laundering ( Prohibition) Act, 2011 as amended”.
Count 17 of the charges read: “That you Yahaya Bello between 26th July 2021 to 6th April 2022 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court aided E-Traders International Limited to conceal the aggregate sum of N3081,804,654.00( Three Billion, Eighty One Million Eight Hundred and Four Thousand Six Hundred and Fifty Four Naira) in account number 1451458080 domiciled in Access BankPlc, which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of proceeds of unlawful activity to wit, criminal breach of trust and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(a), 15(2) (d) of the Money Laundering ( Prohibition) Act, 2011 as amended and punishable under Section 15( 3) of the same Act.
Count 18 of the charges reads: “That you Yahaya Adoza Bello sometime in November 2021 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court indirectly procured E-Traders international Limited to transfer the aggregate sum of $570,330.00( Five Hundred and Seventy Thousand , Three Hundred and Thirty Dollars) to account number 4266644272 domiciled in TD Bank, United States of America which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of proceeds of unlawful activity to wit, criminal breach of trust and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 15(2) (d) of the Money Laundering ( Prohibition) Act, 2011 as amended and punishable under Section 15( 3) of the same Act”.
“The Commission’s attempt to execute the Warrant of Arrest lawfully obtained against Bello met stiff resistance on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. The security cordon around the former governor’s residence in Abuja was breached by the current Governor of Kogi State, Usman Ododo who ensured that the suspect was spirited away in his official vehicle.
“As a responsible law enforcement agency, the EFCC exercised restraint in the face of the provocation, waiting for his arraignment on Thursday, April 18, 2024.
“It is needful to state that Bello is not above the law and would be brought to justice as soon as possible.”
Yhe Kano State High Court has granted an ex parte order restraining the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, from parading himself as a member of the party.
The court ordered that Ganduje must refrain from presiding over all affairs of the National Working Committee of the APC.
The application waa said to have been granted by Justice Usman Na’abba on Tuesday, following an ex parte motion filed by Dr. Ibrahim Sa’ad on behalf of two executive members of Ganduje’s ward, Dawakin-Tofa Local Government Area, the Assistant Secretary, Laminu Sani and Legal Adviser, Haladu Gwanjo (plaintiffs), who were part of the nine ward executives who suspended Ganduje on Monday.
The court directed the four parties (respondents) joined in the matter, including the APC, NWC, APC Kano State Working Committee, and Ganduje, to henceforth, maintain status quo ante belum as of April 15th,2024 pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit on April 30th 2024
Justice Na’abba, also held as prayed, stopped State Working Committee APC Kano from interfering with the legally and validly considered decision of executives of Ganduje ward, essentially on action endorsed by a two-thirds majority of the executives as provided by the party constitution.
The ex parte order read,, “An order is hereby granted directing all parties in the suit APC (first), APC National Working Committee (second), Kano State Working Committee APC (third), Dr. Abdullah Umar Ganduje (fourth), to maintain status quo ante belum as of April 15, 2024.
“The order thereby restraining the first respondent (APC) from recognising the fourth respondent (Ganduje) as a member of APC and prohibiting the fourth respondent (Ganduje) from presiding over any affairs of the NWC and restraining the state Working Committee from interfering with the legally and validly decision of the ward executives of Ganduje ward.
“That the fourth respondent (Ganduje}is prohibited from parading himself as a . member of APC or doing any act that may _ portray him or seem to be a member of APC pending the hearing and determination of the
substantive suit.”
Nine members of the Ganduje ward proclaimed the suspension of the National Chairman of the APC over the allegation of corruption slammed on him by the Kano State Government.
The nine APC executives said they were prompted to act following a petition written by one Ja’afaru Adamu, a member of the AP from the National chairman’s polling unit.
in the petition, Adamu complained over allegations of corruption charges against the
former governor just as he urged the ward leaders to investigate the matter to redeem the dented image of the party and the implication on President Bola Tinubu’s fight against corruption.
Although the chairman and secretary of the ward failed to act on the petition filed en April 8, 2024, nine members of the executives, led by the legal adviser, acted upon the petition, a decision that led to Ganduje’s suspension.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu at the Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a Suit filed by Agunloye in June 2023 to restrain EFCC from harassing him and breaching his fundamental rights because of the ongoing International Arbitration on Mambilla Power Project
The points made by Agunloye in the Civil Suit which had dragged for over nine months had become irrelevant or expired in reality because the EFCC, the Respondent, had, while the case was in progress, declared Agunloye wanted, detained him, maltreated him in detention.
The antigraft agency also arraigned him before another court and remanded him in prison until the court granted him bail.
The court under Justice Egwuatu, however, did not consider the merits of the case largely on the ground that EFCC has the power to carry out its statutory duties and can not be stopped by the Court. On this basis, Justice Egwuatu dismissed the suit and awarded costs.
Agunloye’s lawyers have expressed preparedness in respect of the appeal considering that the court admitted basing its ruling on the suit being “an attempt to use the instrumentality of the Court to shield the Applicant from criminal investigation and to interfere with the statutory authority of the Respondent to investigate crimes or allegations of same in line with the EFCC Act.”
It is believed that the duties of EFCC must be performed in accordance with the law, and the court has the powers to stop any infraction by the EFCC in the course of performance of its duties. Such does not amount to interference with the statutory duties of EFCC but a legal checkmate of its powers to deter likely abuse.
With the Agunloye heading to
appeal against the Judgement, the case is far from being over, and the Court of Appeal will take the opportunity to look at the case extensively.
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