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Breaking: Nnamdi Kanu, judge disagree on withdrawal from trial

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Nnamdi Kanu, judge disagree on withdrawal from trial
Nnamdi Kanu’s lawyer Aloy Ejimakor on Monday again told a federal high court judge Binta Nyako to recuse herself from his trial.
But the judge insisted on sitting in judgement on the case, declaring that the Chief Judge had not granted the request for recusal.
Ejimakor said the request for her to quit the case again came from his client, Nnamdi Kanu, who is the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Kanu has been in the custody of the State Security Service (SSS) since 2021 while standing trial before Mrs Nyako on charges of terrorism and treasonable felony arising from his separatist activists as a pro-Biafra agitator.
He came to the court on Monday in company with SSS operatives at about 8:30am.
Kanu’s trial was earlier stalled after Justice Nyako had initially recused herself from the case following the IPOB leader’s oral application on September 24, 2024.
The IPOB leader broke into a conversation between the bar and the bench during the court session to tell the judge to withdraw from the case.
He said he no longer had confidence in her handling of his trial.
However, John Tsoho, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, returned the file to Justice Nyako on the grounds that Kanu’s application must be brought formally before the court through a motion on notice.
Consequently, in a letter dated December 5, 2024, addressed to the Deputy Chief Registrar; the prosecution led by Adegboyega Awomolo asked the court to fix a date for the commencement of the trial.
Opposing the request for a trial date, the defence counsel, Ejimakor, in a letter dated December 9, 2024, said the ruling of the judge recusing herself remained valid.
He further asked that the case be transferred to a division of the Federal High Court in the South-East region of the country if no judge in Abuja was willing to preside over it.
At the resumed hearing on Monday, the prosecuting counsel led by Mr Awomolo, told the judge was ready for the commencement of trial as his witnesses were ready.
However, Ejimakor said his client had made a choice to not stand trial before Nyako.
“The defendant is still asking that your lordship recuse yourself from this matter,” Ejimakor told the court.
In response, the judge said, “The Chief Judge has not accepted the recusal and referred the case back” to her for trial.
She asked the defence team led by Ejimakor to send a written application if they still insisted on the recusal and thereafter adjourned the case indefinitely.

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Frank Edoho Faces Fresh Allegations as Estranged Wife Breaks Silence

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Frank Edoho Faces Fresh Allegations as Estranged Wife Breaks Silence
Frank Edoho and Sandra Onyenucheya

Frank Edoho Faces Fresh Allegations as Estranged Wife Breaks Silence

Media personality Frank Edoho is facing fresh controversy following serious allegations of infidelity, emotional abuse, intimidation, and financial misconduct levelled against him by his estranged wife, Sandra Onyenucheya, amid the collapse of their marriage.

In a detailed social media statement, Sandra dismissed claims portraying her as unfaithful, insisting she had been unfairly labelled throughout the public fallout surrounding their separation. She described the situation as painful and said she was compelled to speak out to correct what she called long-standing misrepresentations about her character.

Sandra stated that she entered the marriage out of deep affection for Edoho despite resistance from her family, stressing that she remained committed even under difficult circumstances.

According to her, the marriage was allegedly marked by repeated acts of infidelity, which she claimed she later discovered through access to his private communications. She alleged that these discoveries revealed contacts with multiple women, including hotel visits, payments to women, and romantic engagements outside the marriage.

She also accused the broadcaster of subjecting her to years of emotional distress, claiming she endured humiliation, emotional trauma, and alleged physical abuse while remaining silent for a long period due to family considerations and their children.

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Sandra further alleged that she made significant financial contributions during the marriage, including assisting with the repayment of a vehicle loan and investing in property assets. She claimed that one of the properties she financially supported was later sold without her consent.

The estranged wife also accused Edoho of violating her privacy, alleging that he recorded private conversations and released them publicly, an action she described as deeply damaging and humiliating.

In another part of her statement, Sandra alleged that she was subjected to threats during arguments, claiming she was once told she would be harmed in a way that would permanently affect her appearance.

She said the situation eventually reached a breaking point when she feared for her safety, prompting her decision to leave the marriage permanently.

Sandra added that she remained silent for years due to her children and the pressure of public scrutiny, but decided to speak out so her side of the story would be understood in the future.

The allegations come amid ongoing public discussion surrounding the breakdown of the marriage, with both sides previously linked to competing claims and counter-claims in the media.

Neither Frank Edoho nor his representatives have issued a detailed public response to the latest allegations at the time of this report.

Frank Edoho Faces Fresh Allegations as Estranged Wife Breaks Silence

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El-Rufai Denies Wrongdoing As DSS Presents TV Interview In Court

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El-Rufai Denies Wrongdoing As DSS Presents TV Interview In Court
Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai

El-Rufai Denies Wrongdoing As DSS Presents TV Interview In Court

The trial of former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, took a dramatic turn on Monday after a witness from the Department of State Services (DSS) told the Federal High Court in Abuja that the agency uncovered alleged illegal phone interception involving the former governor through a television interview aired on Arise Television.

The witness, whose identity was concealed for security reasons and identified only as “APC,” appeared before the court as the first prosecution witness in the high-profile case involving alleged unlawful interception of phone conversations linked to National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu.

Led in evidence by prosecuting counsel, Oluwole Aladedoye (SAN), the DSS operative told the court that the agency had prior intelligence indicating that El-Rufai would appear on Arise TV’s Prime Time programme.

According to the witness, DSS operatives monitored the interview closely and later concluded that certain remarks made by the former governor amounted to a confessional statement.

“My Lord, the service got information that the defendant would appear on Arise TV Prime Time Show,” the witness said.

He explained that after watching the programme, he immediately briefed senior officials of the DSS.

“I told them that there was a confessional statement where the defendant said he tapped the conversation of the National Security Adviser,” the operative added.

The court heard that the DSS subsequently copied the interview into a flash drive and preserved it as part of the prosecution’s evidence in the case.

The prosecution later tendered the flash drive and a certificate of compliance before the court. Counsel to El-Rufai, Paul Erokoro (SAN), did not object to the admissibility of the materials.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik thereafter admitted both items as exhibits.

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Following the ruling, the prosecution applied for the interview video to be played openly in court, a request that was granted by the judge.

El-Rufai, dressed in a blue agbada, watched the footage from the dock alongside members of his legal team and other observers present in court.

During the interview played in court, the former governor spoke extensively about an alleged encounter with DSS operatives at the Abuja airport after returning from Egypt.

According to El-Rufai, security officials approached him at the airport and attempted to compel him to accompany them without presenting any formal invitation or official document.

“I came out of the plane and a young man came to me and said, ‘I am SSS and they would want to meet with me in our office,’” El-Rufai said in the recorded interview.

The former governor further alleged during the broadcast that the operation against him was ordered by the National Security Adviser.

According to him, information about the alleged directive was obtained through intercepted phone conversations.

“We listened to their calls, someone tapped the phone conversation and told us that he gave the order,” El-Rufai stated in the interview shown in court.

That statement immediately became one of the major issues raised by the prosecution in the ongoing trial.

The DSS is prosecuting El-Rufai on an amended five-count charge bordering on alleged unlawful interception of communications, breach of national security protocols, and offences connected to provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024 and the Nigerian Communications Act.

The prosecution alleged that the former governor unlawfully interfered with communications classified as part of Nigeria’s Critical National Information Infrastructure.

During the proceedings, El-Rufai also accused security agencies of being used against him for political purposes.

He claimed he was being targeted because of political alignments linked to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s second-term ambitions.

The former governor insisted he had nothing to hide and challenged anyone to produce evidence that he stole public funds during his time in office.

Proceedings were briefly interrupted after the audio quality of the video deteriorated during playback.

Following the technical issue, the prosecution requested additional time to produce a clearer version of the recording, a move the defence did not oppose.

Justice Abdulmalik subsequently adjourned the matter for continuation of hearing.

Earlier, the court granted El-Rufai bail in the sum of N100 million with one surety in like sum.

The judge ruled that the surety must be a federal civil servant not below Grade Level 17 and must own landed property in either Maitama or Asokoro, Abuja.

The court also ordered the former governor to surrender all international passports and report monthly to the DSS headquarters pending the determination of the case.

Justice Abdulmalik further approved the prosecution’s request for DSS witnesses to testify under protection throughout the trial.

The court equally dismissed objections raised by the defence challenging the amended charges and granted accelerated hearing in the matter.

El-Rufai Denies Wrongdoing As DSS Presents TV Interview In Court

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ICPC Denies Blocking El-Rufai From Receiving Food, Medical Care In Detention

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ICPC Denies Blocking El-Rufai From Receiving Food, Medical Care In Detention
Former Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai

ICPC Denies Blocking El-Rufai From Receiving Food, Medical Care In Detention

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has dismissed allegations that former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, was denied access to food, family members, and medical care while in detention.

The anti-graft agency described the claims as “false and misleading,” insisting that the former governor has continued to receive medical attention and family visits in line with the commission’s detention protocols.

The controversy followed allegations by Mohammed Bello, the lawmaker representing Kaduna North Federal Constituency and son of the former governor, who accused the ICPC of violating his father’s fundamental human rights.

Bello claimed that officials of the commission prevented El-Rufai’s wife from delivering food to him and also blocked his personal doctor from seeing him to discuss the outcome of recent medical examinations.

According to the lawmaker, the doctor was allegedly informed that written approval from the ICPC chairman was required before access could be granted.

However, speaking during a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, ICPC spokesperson, Okor Odey, rejected the allegations and maintained that the commission had acted within established procedures.

Odey explained that the agency operates an access-control policy that allows visitors into the detention facility between 9:00am and 6:30pm daily.

According to him, El-Rufai’s wife arrived at the facility around 7:00pm, after official visiting hours had closed.

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“The families of all defendants and suspects in ICPC custody, including the family in question, were duly informed of this protocol and have, until this incident, been in compliance,” Odey said.

He disclosed that one of El-Rufai’s wives and a housemaid had earlier delivered food to the former governor at least three times between 10:30am and 5:30pm on the same day.

The ICPC spokesman also said the commission maintains a visitors’ register containing details of all approved visits, including family members, legal representatives, and medical personnel.

Addressing allegations that El-Rufai’s doctor was denied entry, Odey said the medical personnel were only subjected to standard security and identification procedures before being granted supervised access.

“It is a standard security procedure,” he stated.

Odey further revealed that the former Kaduna governor had recently been allowed to visit both his dentist and eye doctor under ICPC escort.

He added that El-Rufai also has access to in-house medical personnel within the commission whenever necessary.

The ICPC stressed that the former governor’s detention was not politically motivated, noting that he remained in custody because he had yet to meet the bail conditions earlier granted by the court.

El-Rufai has been in the custody of the ICPC since February 19 over alleged financial impropriety linked to his administration as Kaduna State governor between 2015 and 2023.

The former governor was arraigned before the Kaduna State High Court on April 13 on an amended nine-count charge bordering on alleged fraud, abuse of office, and diversion of public funds.

The commission maintained that it would not be distracted by what it described as “dramatised narratives” aimed at undermining lawful institutional procedures.

ICPC Denies Blocking El-Rufai From Receiving Food, Medical Care In Detention

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