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I’m disappointed with Buhari’s refusal to release Kanu –Ezeife

Published

3 years ago

January 16, 2022

An elder and former governor of Anambra State, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife

An elder and former governor of Anambra State, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife, has expressed disappointment over the position of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), that the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, will not be released from detention.

Kanu was arrested last year in Kenya and brought back to Nigeria before he was charged with offences bordering on treasonable felony and terrorism.

President Buhari had told Igbo elders led by the First Republic parliamentarian and Minister of Aviation, Mbazulike Amaechi, who visited him at the State House, Abuja, that though their request for Kanu’s release was heavy, he (Buhari) would consider it.

The President was, however, categorical in an interview with Channels Television when he said he would not release Kanu and that the IPOB leader should defend himself in court.

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Speaking in an interview with Saturday PUNCH on Buhari’s latest stand on the matter, Ezeife said he and his friends were bound to be disappointed, saying the President, by his recent position, rubbished all that happened during the Igbo elders’ visit to the State House in Abuja.

The former governor said, “There is nothing we can do. After the meeting, the people who are familiar with him said he responded to us truthfully and that he took our case very seriously and that his answer gives hope.

“We went away with that, that there is hope. But for him now to, in public, rubbish all that happened, I am bound to be disappointed and so would be my friends who were there.”

On the way forward, he urged the President to work out an agreement with all groups involved in the current agitation for self-determination with a view to establishing a political arrangement that would satisfy Nigerians.

“One thing we can still do is this, Nnamdi is detained, Igboho was put in a crisis position, the South attacked and some people were killed, so many other complaints as well. The Ijaw people are complaining, the Middle Belt has declared their non-compliance anymore and South-South has been in that shape.

“I think what the President should do is to try to solve all these problems with one committee. If he can assemble maybe five people per zone and let them look at all the reports, including 2014, all the constitutions we have had, the 1963 Constitution and all that, and work out an agreement with all the groups for a Nigeria with political rearrangement that would satisfy other people.

“I don’t want to just say I am very disappointed because I am very much interested in Nigeria surviving. So, I suggest this caucus of knowledgeable people who can work out a new arrangement politically for Nigeria. The political solution is the only one that can solve the problem.

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Buhari’ll not renege on promise, says Amaechi

However, in a separate interview with Amaechi, the leader of the Igbo elders’ delegation to Aso Rock, he expressed optimism that the President would not renege on his promise to consider a political solution to Kanu’s matter.

Amaechi said, “Kanu’s situation can be solved either politically or even legally. It can be solved legally by the Attorney General. When I met the President, he told me he would consider my request on Nnamdi Kanu.

“There are many ways to kill a rat. So, I have no reason to doubt the President. People need to trust him because he is not the type of President who talks without knowing what he is saying. He is a highly principled man.

“I don’t think the President has reneged on what he told me. He has so far not. All I know is that discussions are going on. I can’t tell you more than that. We are in contact and I have trust in the President’s words.”

Punch

Related Topics:Buhari Ezeife Kanu refusal

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$6bn fraud: Judge scolds Agunloye’s counsel over delay tactics

Published

12 mins ago

November 15, 2024

Trends Admin

Former Power and Steel Minister Olu Agunloye

$6bn fraud: Judge scolds Agunloye’s counsel over delay tactics

Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal High Court, Apo, Abuja On Thursday, chastised Adeola Adedipe, SAN, counsel to former Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye, for using delay tactics to slow the pace of the former minister’s prosecution.

Agunloye is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on seven counts of official corruption and fraudulent award of the Mambilla Power Project contract worth $6 billion.

During Thursday’s hearings, the court observed that the defence counsel has been in the habit of making excuses based on Agunloye’s health and age, as well as filing various motions, ensuring that little progress has been achieved in the trial.

Addressing the defence counsel, Justice Onwuegbuzie stated that “My principle of justice is that of no delay. The other time you brought the issue of amicus curiae and wasted the time of the court. You should also know that in my court I don’t read processes.

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“If you need time to serve processes, it must reach me on time, and your colleague must also be duly aware in time. There must be mutual respect. Do not come and serve processes in court; I don’t take that in my court,” he said.

Prosecuting Counsel Abba Mohammed, SAN, informed the court at the start of proceedings that the business of the day was the adoption of the prosecution’s application for the amendment of the charge, which was filed on October 30, 2024, to which the defence responded with a counter-affidavit and a request for an adjournment to allow the prosecution to study the affidavit.

Justice Onwuegbuzie adjourned the case until November 28, 2024, to rule on the adoption of the application.

$6bn fraud: Judge scolds Agunloye’s counsel over delay tactics

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Emefiele printed new naira notes different from what Buhari approved – Ex-CBN official

Published

17 mins ago

November 15, 2024

Trends Admin

Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele

Emefiele printed new naira notes different from what Buhari approved – Ex-CBN official

The trial of former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, continued at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Maitama on Thursday, November 14, 2024.

A former CBN Deputy Governor, Kingsley Obiora, who served in the policy department, testified that the newly printed naira notes issued during Emefiele’s tenure deviated from the approval granted by then-President Muhammadu Buhari.

In his testimony before Justice Maryann Anenih via Zoom, Obiora disclosed, “the approval by then President Muhammadu Buhari was different from what was eventually produced,” according to a statement from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Obiora, responding to evidence presented by prosecution counsel Rotimi Oyedepo SAN, explained that he noticed discrepancies when comparing the naira notes in circulation with the President’s original directive.

During his seven-year tenure at the CBN, Obiora served on the Committee of Governors (COG), which he described as a body comprising “the governor, four deputy governors, and the director of corporate services.” He clarified, “The governor is the Chairman of the Committee, and during my tenure as Deputy Governor, Emefiele was our Chairman.” Obiora said the Committee met every Wednesday to address significant policy matters.

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Obiora recalled the initial introduction of the redesign plan during an event marking the one-year anniversary of the e-naira in Lagos on October 25, 2022. “The governor called all four deputy governors into a huddle and informed us of the plan to redesign the currency,” he said, expressing immediate concerns, as he felt “the event itself may not be the appropriate place to announce such a major policy.” He advised that the policy undergo further scrutiny before any public announcement.

Despite his reservations, Obiora noted that Emefiele proceeded with the plan, formally presenting it to the COG on October 26, 2022. “The governor mentioned that we had already had the president’s approval for the policy,” he stated, adding, “The deputy governor in charge of currency operations presented a memo, and it was discussed, deliberated upon.” Following this, a press conference was held to announce the redesign.

Obiora explained that the CBN Board was formally briefed on the naira redesign months later, in mid-December 2022. He said, “The policy was discussed at the board level mid-December. The board did not sit as day-to-day management but instead gave policy directions.” Obiora clarified that “the board’s involvement in the policy was limited to endorsing the COG’s prior decision, not initiating it.”

During cross-examination, defense counsel Olalekan Ojo, SAN, questioned Obiora about the timing of the board’s formal involvement. Ojo suggested that the December meeting “conforms with the naira notes currently in circulation,” to which Obiora responded, “Yes, sir.” He noted there had been no indication or directive from former President Buhari challenging the redesign.

Reflecting on past experiences with currency design, Obiora mentioned that while he was with the bank during the introduction of a redesigned N100 note in 2014, he was not directly involved in its development.

After delivering his testimony, Justice Anenih discharged Obiora and adjourned the case to December 4, 2024, and January 21, 2025, for further proceedings.

Emefiele printed new naira notes different from what Buhari approved – Ex-CBN official

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Train attack: ECOWAS court dismisses SERAP suit against FG

Published

20 mins ago

November 15, 2024

Trends Admin

Train attack: ECOWAS court dismisses SERAP suit against FG

The Community Court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Court) has rejected a suit filed by a group of Nigerian activists, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) over an attack by bandits on an Abuja-Kaduna train on March 28, 2022.

The court held that it lacks jurisdiction over the case because relevant ingredients that could qualify it to be entertained as a public interest litigation were missing.

SERAP filed the case after bandits attacked the Abuja-Kaduna passenger train in 2022.

In the attack, armed assailants bombed the train carrying over 970 passengers on the Abuja-Kaduna rail line near Rigasa in Kaduna.

The attack led to numerous fatalities, injuries, and abductions.

SERAP, by its case, sought to hold the government of Nigeria accountable for alleged human rights violations in relation to the terrorist attack.

The organisation claimed, among others, that the attack was the result of the state’s inability to provide tight security for the passengers.

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SERAP argued that Nigeria’s alleged lack of measures to avert the attack violated the rights of passengers to life, security, and dignity.

It prayed for a N50 million compensation for each of the passengers and their families.

In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, the regional court declared the suit inadmissible due to lack of victim status required for public interest litigation.

A statement by the court said the judgment was delivered by Justice Dupe Atoki.

It added: “The court recognised its jurisdiction to hear the case as it involved potential human rights violations within a member-state, in accordance with Article 9(4) of the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol.

“However, the court found the claim inadmissible on grounds that it failed to meet the victim status requirement essential for litigation under Article 10(d) of the same Protocol.

“In its findings, the court said that SERAP claimed to be acting in public interest, citing previous incidents of terrorism in the region, including attacks on educational institutions and transportation services.

“However, the court determined that the case did not meet the criteria for a public interest action, or actio popularis, which requires that the alleged violations affect a large, indeterminate segment of the public or the general public itself.

“The Court highlighted that: The victims of the March 28 attack were identifiable individuals rather than an indeterminate public group, making the claim unsuitable as a public interest litigation.

“The reliefs sought, including specific monetary compensation, were directed at the identifiable victims of the attack rather than the public at large.

“Members of the three-member panel of the court were Honourable Justice Ricardo Cláudio Monteiro Gonçalves(presiding judge), Honorable Justice Sengu Mohamed Koroma (panel member), and Honorable Justice Dupe Atoki (judge rapporteur).”