The court noted that it had received many complaints against its judgments upholding Section 285(5)(b) of the Constitution.

The apex court, however, expressed frustration with the provisions of the constitution which made it mandatory for election tribunals to dispose petitions within 180 days.

A full panel of the court headed by Justice Mahmud Mohammed, noted that court was helpless and that the only thing that could be done to ensure that litigants’ fair hearing was not violated was for the constitution to be amended.

Section 285(5) (b) states: “an election tribunal shall deliver its judgment in writing within 180 days from the date of the filing of the petition.”

It will be recalled that many aggrieved politicians have lost their petitions on this technical ground alone.

The apex court also held that the appeal by Akeredolu was caught by the above provisions and further held that it would amount to embarking on an academic exercise to determine the merits of Akeredolu’s appeal when the tribunal had already wound up and delivered its final judgment.

Justice Kumai Akaahs, who delivered the lead judgment, observed that: “It had been 192 days from the day of filing the petition. The tribunal no longer exists having delivered its final judgment.

Source: Tribune

No more would Shepherd Moyo be allowed to terrorise northern Joburg residents. On Wednesday, the Lonehill and Paulshof robber and rapist was sentenced by the Johannesburg High Court to multiple life terms.

Investigating officer Tony Rakoma had a triumphant smile on his face. His job was finally done. None of the witnesses who testified came to court for the sentencing, but Rakoma had sent them text messages about the verdict.

“They were all so happy and relieved. They finally got their closure and can now move on with their lives. It was a job well done,” he said.

Moyo, who was nicknamed “Axeman”, would rob his victims in the early hours – usually between 2am and 4am. After ransacking their houses, he would have some water and would either lock the occupants in their bathrooms or bedrooms.

In some instances, he would rape the victims. Most of the items he would take from the homes were valued at thousands of rand. His crime spree dates back to 2004, with incidents also in 2008, 2010 and 2011.

“The worst in my view is that he attacked and molested the victims in the sanctity of their own homes where they thought they were safe,” said Judge Mathilda Masipa in sentencing him.

She was especially aggrieved by the fact that Moyo would not only force himself on them, but would also strip them of their dignity and ensure the rapes were not traced back to him.

In one of the rapes, he used a condom and flushed it down the toilet. In another, he ejaculated on the carpet and wiped himself with a towel, which he got rid of.

Judge Masipa said his three rape victims never recovered from the trauma and became emotional wrecks. She firmly believed all the offences were carefully planned and executed. The judge said it was inconceivable that someone who was working alone would pick the victims out at random, and she was convinced he had studied the potential victims.

Moyo would always take his time during the robberies and never hurry, as if he knew no one would come to the rescue of the victims.

“His brazen conduct sent a chilly message to residents that no degree of security would deter criminals,” said Judge Masipa.

The 63-year-old man he repeatedly stabbed during a robbery now lives as a prisoner in his own home.
“What weighs with me very heavily is that the accused showed no remorse, therefore it is difficult to imagine he can be rehabilitated.”

The judge said it was clear from the evidence that Moyo was a detriment to society.
Last week, she found him guilty on 11 counts of housebreaking and robbery, three of rape and one of attempted murder. Six robbery charges were withdrawn as witnesses could not be traced. On Wednesday, Moyo got 15 years for each of the 11 counts of robbery, 12 years for attempted murder, and life sentences for all three rape charges – a total of 252 years.

The attempted murder and robbery sentences will run concurrently with the three life sentences. “The effective sentence therefore is life imprisonment,” the judge said

Source: Naija Mayor

The ACP, who is the Area Commander, in charge of Onitsha Area command of the Nigerian Police, told the court that he was no longer interested in the marriage, accusing his wife of gross disobedience to his orders.

A mild drama had played at the commencement of hearing on the matter when Wordu sat down during his cross examination, a development that was vehemently opposed by the counsel to the respondent, Barr. J.U Ugwuoke.

The President of the customary court, Barr. Sunday Ugwude took notice of Ugwuoke’s objection and asked him to make his protest formal.

Ugwuoke told the court that “I have never seen where anybody, no matter how highly placed, sits down to answer questions in the court. I therefore, urge the court to order the petitioner to stand up in respect to this court. If he must sit down, his lawyer must appeal to the court to allow him do so”.

The application was not opposed by Wordu’s counsel, Ugwu K.A, who held the brief of Offorkansi Clement. N; consequently, the court ordered him to stand up.

However, his counsel later made official request to the court to allow him sit down. The request was not opposed and as such the court then obliged the appeal.

During the cross-examination, Wordu, who had earlier given his evidence on the 26th of April, told the court that prior to the present crisis-ridden marriage, he had another wife, who he divorced for undisclosed reasons.

He admitted that the said first marriage produced a son, identified as Wordu Benjamin, Chinurum Jnr.

It was gathered that having divorced his first wife, the Rivers State born police officer got married to Juliet, in 1999, a marriage that is also blessed with four kids.

He admitted that Benjamin Jnr who was not living with him prior to his marriage with Juliet, moved into his house after the marriage, adding that the boy lived peacefully with the then new wife.
Wordu, who was once the DPO in charge of Uwani Police Station, Enugu told the court that by the time he was going on transfer to Rivers State in 2009, they were already having problems in the marriage.

One of the major issues he raised against Juliet, was that she allegedly despised his order and went ahead to buy a vehicle.

“I told her not to buy any a car because at that moment, she was having problem with her contracts in the Prison Officers Wives’ Association, POWA.

“She was the secretary of POWA, so I asked her to mind her business, which had to do with construction of some stalls”, Wordu stated, adding that the former Inspector General of Police also made efforts to resolve the crisis.

“The wife of the former IG of police became aware of the problem between us when she reported the matter to them. The IG then directed the Rivers State Commissioner of Police and his wife to look into the matter”, he said.

Wordu equally informed the court that he called for a family meeting, where he told his kinsmen of his wife’s alleged disloyalty to him by purchasing the car against his directive.

He further disclosed that within that period, he was residing at Port Hacourt, while the wife and the children were in Enugu.

“My wife is still holding my children; that’s why I am asking the court to allow me have them. I don’t know when she relocated to Abuja with them”.

He alleged that he had it on good authority that his wife was getting married to another man.

When asked to explain how he came about the information, he said one of his Nsukka in-laws, simply identified as Coach sent a text message to that regards.

DailyPost equally gathered that part of the Area Commander’s grouse against the wife was the inability of his in-laws to attend his father’s burial ceremony.

When asked whether he informed the in-laws about his father’s death he said: “I told my wife about it, and having done that, I believe it is left for her to tell her people. If somebody dies, a delegation must not be sent to inform people. I know that sometimes some people will just hear where people are crying over loss of a relation and they just run into the place without anybody inviting them and present whatever they want to the bereaved”.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Wordu, who had during her plea objected to the dissolution of the marriage is to give her evidence on May 21.

Source: Daily Post

Topless Women in Public Not Breaking the Law Says NYPD

This policy shift comes after several years of litigation and protest. In the 1992 case People v. Ramona Santorelli and Mary Lou Schloss, the New York Court of Appeals ruled in favor of two women who were arrested with five others for exposing their breasts in a Rochester park, holding the law void as discriminatory. The ruling was put to the test in 2005, when Jill Coccaro bared her breasts on Delancey Street in New York, citing the 1992 decision, and was detained for twelve hours. She subsequently successfully sued the city for $29,000.

In 2007, Go Topless, a national organization supporting gender equality in shirtlessness laws, established Go Topless Day. Dozens of women protest – often topless – in thirty cities around the United States, promoting equal rights to be shirtless. Protests usually include chants of “Free your breasts. Free your minds” and a song “Let ‘em Breathe” to the tune of the Beatles’ “Let it Be.”

While some who have witnessed these events have suggested that “[t]his is extreme liberalism and why America’s in decline” or “[i]t’s degrading to women,” others have been supportive. One man even said he would encourage his wife to join them.

Though bare-breasted women might shock the sensibilities of some in the public, it is encouraging to see the police responding positively to gender bias, even on such a seemingly small scale. After all, no one thinks twice about a man shirtless on a summer day. However, the female nipple or chest is still considered “lewd.” By reminding its officers of this, the NYPD is publicly declaring that it will no longer perpetuate unconstitutional gender discrimination, a standard to which all law enforcement should be held and a decision for which it should be applauded.

Footage of the protesters can be found here (NSFW)

Source: Policymic

KABIRU SOKOTO

This came on day the Boko Haram Amnesty Committee said it never met with him during its visit to Kuje Prison last week.

At his resumed trial before Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, Sokoto queried the competence of the 2-count terrorism charge preferred against him by the Federal Government, contending that the government had failed to establish a prima-facie criminal case capable of warranting his conviction.

He stated this as government closed its case against him after it had called six witnesses that testified before the high court.

Consequent upon an application made by Sokoto’s lawyer, Mr Hassan Lukman, Justice Ademola Adeniyi, adjourned the case till June 7 to enable the accused person enter his no-case-submission.

Basically, a no case submission is made when an accused person believes that the prosecution has failed to prove the ingredients of the offence for which he is charged or that the evidence adduced in court was such that a judge cannot rely upon to pass a sentence.

Specifically, the alleged Boko Haram kingpin urged the court to give him only seven-days to puncture the terrorism case against him, a request granted.

The court also gave the federal government five days to respond on points of law to whatever the accused person will file.

Besides, Sokoto, asked the court to furnish him with the entire record of proceeding, a request that was declined by Justice Adeniyi.

Meanwhile, the last prosecution witness who testified before the court yesterday, alleged that Sokoto had confessed that one of the recognized leaders of the sect, Abubakar Shekau, told him that only members of the sect initiated into the “Shurah” cadre were allowed to know the ideology behind the current insurgency in the Northern part of the country.

The witness told the court that Sokoto had disclosed that whereas members of the “Shurah” which he belongs to, plan and mastermind attacks, other lay members were recruited to execute terrorist agenda of the sect.

However, Sokoto, through his lawyer, faulted the testimony of the masked witness, maintaining that he used the Hausa word “Anche” in his statement, a word he said meant “they said.”

He told the court that he was only referring to what he was told by those affiliated to the sect.

The federal government had alleged that aside the Madalla blast, the accused person trained over 500 men on how to manufacture and detonate Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs, adding that he had a terrorist training camp at Abaji, a suburb town in Abuja.

One of the witnesses had earlier narrated before the court how a donation of N40million divided the sect.

According to the witness, Sokoto had in a statement made on January 14, 2012, confessed that of the said N40million which he said was received from another terrorist group in Algeria, he got the sum of N500, 000, being the recognized governor of Sokoto State in the hierarchy of the group.

He told the court that the accused person admitted that he used his share of the money and bought Quran and other Islamic religious books, even as he allegedly volunteered the names of two members of the sect that bombed Catholic church at Madalla, Niger State, on Christmas day.

The witness further told the court that Sokoto gave the names of the two perpetrators as Bashir Mohammed and Muhktar Kafanchan, noting that the federal government is currently on the trail of the said culprits.

Besides, “Mr ABC”, testified that the accused person confessed that it was not suicide bombers that attacked the church, but that the bombs were detonated from a car that was parked near the church.

Likewise, another witness, “Mr DEF”, narrated how Sokoto hid behind a wardrobe on February 10, 2012, a day he was re-arrested at Sabongida in Taraba state, few days after he escaped from police custody in Abuja.

The witness who is an operative of the Department of State Service, DSS, told the court that upon his arrest, Sokoto was found with a Nokia phone and six different Sim cards.

Meanwhile, Boko Haram Amnesty Committee has said it never met with Kabiru Sokoto, the alleged mastermind of 2011 Christmas Day bombing of St. Theresa Catholic Church, Madallah, Niger State, during its visit to Kuje Prison last week.

In a statement signed by secretary of the Committe in Abuja, the committee, which is officially called Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North (PCDRSCN), said its attention had been drawn to a front page story of a particular media report (not Vanguard) which alleged that it met and held discussions with the suspect.

According to the statement, the committee did not at any time during the visit see Sokoto, let alone have discussions with him.

Agreeing that its chairman had an interactive session with some members of the press, the committee said it did not consider Kabiru Sokoto a sufficiently significant figure in the hierarchy of Ahlul Sunnah Lil Da’awa Wal JihadN to warrant such a special attention to him.

It further described the story as false, saying “it may be considered as deliberate act of mischief or sabotage intended to discredit the work of the committee.”

The statement read in part: “While, indeed, the committee did visit the Kuje Prison on Thursday, May 14, 2013, and met with officials and some of those detained there, at no point did the committee state that it saw Kabiru Sokoto, let alone hold any discussion with him during the visit.”

Source: Vanguard

Esther was said to have conspired with six others to commit the alleged offence.

The other suspects are Patricia Nna, Kingsley Okonwa, Osita Adigwe, Uzochukwu Ezioha, Jude Sunday and Michael Olarenwaju, who are being prosecuted by the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecution, DPP.

The seven defendants who were arraigned on March 5 are facing a five-count charge of conspiracy, armed robbery, kidnapping and neglect to prevent felony.

Led in evidence by Mr Ade Ipaye, Attorney General of Lagos State and Commissioner for Justice, Olaoye said he had taken the accused to bed twice since they met in February 2012 and they became friends.

Olaoye, who said he came back into the country in December 2011, after his graduation from a university in England, said the first defendant gave her name as Jenny and claimed to be a student of Lagos State University, LASU.

Olaoye who was testifying at the trial of the seven kidnap suspects before Justice Olabisi Akinlade, said on April 22, 2012, at about 4 p.m, which was on a Sunday, the first defendant asked him to follow her to her hostel in LASU and he agreed because he trusted her.

How I was kidnapped

Olaoye said he drove his Nissan Muranno SUV and picked Philips up at a first generation bank in Opebi and they moved towards LASU with Phillips giving the directions that he should go and pick her friend, the second defendant, whom he said gave her name as Juliet.

He said after they had picked up Nna, the second defendant at Dopemu, Philips told him that the lady was her school mate.

According to him, after driving for sometime, they told me to stop at an isolated place because they were pressed, adding that immediately he stopped the car, three men, Okonwa, Adigwe and Ezioha, entered his car through the back door.

He said the defendants who were armed with a battle axe and knives dragged him to the back seat and took his mobile phone, wrist watch, necklace and money.

Olaoye said he was tied up, blindfolded and taken to an unknown destination by the first to fifth accused persons who told him to cooperate or they would kill him, adding that they took his phone and called his mum first to inform her that he was in a cage.

The ransom

The plaintiff said after speaking with his mum, they also called his father and told him that he was in a cage and demanded a ransom of $400,000.

He said Phillips specifically told him to try and convince his parents to pay the money or the guys would kill him.

Olaoye said he was incarcerated for four days, adding that the defendants collected N5 million ransom from his parents.

According to him, his father, Mr Segun Olaoye, paid N5 million to them which they shared among themselves.

My escape

He said it was while they were sharing the money that he was able to sneak out of the house where he was being held and took a motorcycle to his father’s office in Gowon Estate in Iyana-Ipaja.

After which he wrote a statement at the Police station but he couldn’t remember the exact date or the particular police station.

However, Justice Akinlade adjourned the matter to May, 17, 2013, for continuation of trial.

Source: Vanguard

The 62-year-old Abiodun was a former guitarist with King Sunny Ade, a foremost Nigerian musician.

Abiodun had pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful exportation of 1.575kg of cocaine during his arraignment on February 26, 2013.

Prior to the judgment, defence counsel, Mr. Bayo Onifade, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy as Abiodun was a husband of three wives with 12 children.

Justice S. Seidu, however, sentenced the convict to three years imprisonment with effect from the date of arrest.

Seidu said, “The appeal of the defence counsel has been taken into consideration and the fact that the convict pleaded guilty as charged without wasting the time of the court was also carefully considered.”

Abiodun was apprehended by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on January 1, 2013, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.

Abiodun, who played guitar for music star, King Sunny Ade, for over three decades, was caught while attempting to board an Air France flight to Italy.

During a search, two parcels of cocaine weighing 1.575kg were found hidden in the false bottom of his luggage.

Abiodun had blamed poverty for his predicament.

He said, “I can play any kind of guitar but my music career is a sad story. I played for King Sunny Ade for 30 years before I was unceremoniously retired in 2007 without severance benefit. I was unprepared for it and I saw the bitter side of life. This is my first time of trafficking drugs. I did it out of frustration because at my age, I could not provide for my family. I am ashamed of myself.”

Chairman of NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade, however, said stiffer penalty should be meted out to drug offenders.

Giade said, “Punishment must be commensurate with offence to serve as a deterrent to others. The drug is worth millions of naira and the damage to humanity cannot be quantified.”

Source: Punch

With the above ruling, Joseph Adewusi, president of Orile-Agege Customary Court in Lagos on Monday dissolved the four-year-old marriage of Pastor Segun Fasina and his wife, Abosede.

The petitioner, Pastor Fasina, had filed the suit on March 12, seeking dissolution of their young marriage over his wife’s allegedly infidelity. A resident of No.4 Moses Street, Alagba, Orile-Agege, Pastor Fasina told the court that Abosede had lost her sense of dignity and was now smoking and consuming alcohol.

The pastor also said that his wife was troublesome and a gossip. “My wife, Abosede, possesses all the bad habits one can think of. She was accused of stealing a phone in our house. I believed she actually stole it because of her behaviour. She goes to other co-tenants’ apartments to gossip.

“And whenever there is any fight in the house, my wife’s name is always mentioned. As a pastor, I have prayed for her deliverance from the evil acts but my effort was in vain. Since the marriage is childless, we owe ourselves nothing. So, I want the court to dissolve the union.”

But Abosede, 30, denied the allegations. She said, “My husband is adulterous. He counsels his church members at home, and I discovered that most of them are ladies. He was inside the room counselling a woman when I dashed in. But to my surprise, my husband and the woman were both naked in our bed.

“My husband beat me and threw me out of the house. When I reported the case to his father, the man said, I should not disturb his son. I am not a drunk. My husband saw me with alcohol that was meant to cleanse my stomach, so that I can get pregnant,” she said.

While dissolving their marriage, the magistrate said the marriage had broken up irreparably.

Source: Olufamous

In a preliminary objection filed by the state Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General of the state, Honourable Wale Afolabi, on behalf of the state government, the government pleaded with the court to allow out-of-court settlement of the case among all the contending parties.

Afolabi, who led five other counsel from the state Ministry of Justice at the resumed hearing of the case on Monday, informed the court that the state government was interested in amicable settlement of the matter.

In the same vein, counsel for the state chapter of CAN, Mr Femi Ayandokun, implored the court to permit all concerned parties in the matter to resolve the issue peacefully.

He argued that the matter should not be allowed to snowball into protracted crisis, thus the need for the concerned parties to meet and proffer acceptable solution to the issue.

The presiding judge, Justice Jide Falola, said both Muslim and Christian leaders in the state had invited him over the matter in order to avert religious crisis in the state, assuring that justice would be done on the matter sooner than expected.

He disclosed that the security agencies and traditional rulers were also interested in the matter and, therefore, called on all stakeholders in the two religions to allow peace to reign, just as he adjourned the case till June 25 for hearing on the matter.

Source: Tribune

The shipment included rockets and other explosives that had been hidden in containers of building materials when authorities found it. Iran is barred from shipping weapons abroad under United Nations sanctions.

Azim Adhajani, accused of being a Tehran-based businessman and member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, was found guilty with Abuja-based businessman Ali Usman Abbas Jega of importing illegal goods, false declaration on a bill of laden and concealment of firearms.

They and two more Nigerian suspects, customs clearing agents Ali Oroji Wamako and Mohammed Tukur, had also been charged with conspiring to re-export the illegal shipment to Banjul, Gambia, but this charge was not addressed.

Reports that Iranian security forces were ultimately trying to supply weapons to Casamance rebels in this shipment strained ties between Iran and Senegal.

Senegal’s Casamance region lies between Gambia to the north and Guinea-Bissau to the south. Separatist Casamance rebels have been fighting a low-intensity conflict for the independence of the region since the 1980s.

The seized weapons included assorted calibers of mortars and 107 mm rockets – designed to attack static targets and used by armies to support infantry units – as well as shells for a 23 mm anti-aircraft gun.

The two men have already spent more than two years in prison awaiting trial, time which will count towards their sentence.

Source: Reuters