Afe Babalola, senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), says sitting judges should not preside over election petition tribunals. Babalola spoke on Monday in Ado-Ekiti at an event to mark his 60th anniversary at the bar. The legal luminary said election tribunals should be handled by retired judges and senior advocates, adding that with that, regular court cases would not be affected. He also said the judiciary needs a total overhaul which can only be achieved with a new constitution. “Our judiciary today needs a total overhaul and you cannot do it without a new constitution,” he said. “I have about three cases myself in respect of matters arising from the university. “For the past four years, these cases have been on. We have some judges here, the headquarters won’t be able to sit for many months because they are handling what they call election petitions.   “Election petitions should not be handled by sitting judges, they should be decided only by the committee set up consisting of senior advocates and retired judges in that case regular courts would not close down.”

  President Bola Tinubu, on Monday, returned to Abuja after a two-day trip to Guinea Bissau for the 63rd Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in Bissau. At the summit, which is the President’s first meeting with the sub-regional authority, Tinubu emerged as the new ECOWAS Chairman after President Muhammadu Buhari who previously held the position in 2018. Tinubu told the leaders in the sub-region that under his leadership, the commission will take democracy seriously. According to the Nigerian President, Democracy is very tough but it is the best form of government. The new Chairman of the sub-regional body declared that insecurity and creeping terrorism were stunting the progress and development of the region. He warned that the threat to peace in the sub-region had reached an alarming proportion with terrorism and an emerging pattern of military takeover that now demand urgent and concerted actions from member states.

  The National Chairman of Labour Party (LP), Barrister Julius Abure, has charged members of the party to be prepared for a presidential rerun. He said he had been informed that President Bola Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress (APC) led government was also getting set for a rerun. Abure also urged millions of party members to be on the alert and get ready to “further humiliate” APC and its government at the polls. H said this during a virtual meeting held with Nigerian-American Coalition for Justice and Democracy led by Prof. Eddie Oparaoji, who is the Lap Diaspora Chairman in the United States, on Monday. “Those in government are already planning for rerun and this is one of the support we will be canvasing from you. We should also be getting prepared because since all those in government are already preparing for rerun we too should not be taken unawares.” “So we will be needing your engagement and support on this aspect if par adventure it happens today, that the election is nullified which is not what we are asking for, because we are asking for outright declaration of Peter Obi as the President of Nigeria.   “We believe strongly that we won that election given the statistics we have, given the result we have, we are not expecting anything less than the declaration of Peter Obi as the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. But supposing that didn’t happen as the government is believed to be planning for a rerun, it will not also be out of place for we to be preparing for a rerun election,” Abure said. The LP boss said the party is hopeful that if the matter gets to the Supreme Court, the apex court will also act in their favour. Also, the Director of Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign, Ambassador Oseloka Obaze, urged ObiDatti members in diaspora to see the struggle “for recovering of our mandate” as a collective responsibility and one that no one can actually abandon for any other reason. In his speech, the chairman of the Nigerian-American Coalition for Justice and Democracy, said that the group in partnership with all Obidients in diaspora has the potential to contribute significantly to Nigerian’s development. “Through advocacy, human rights promotion, capacity building, investment, education and healthcare support, diaspora engagement, and policy advocacy, we can play a crucial role in fostering democratic governance, justice, and socio-ecobomic progress in Nigeria,” he said.

  The United Arab Emirates has ordered the arrest of a man who was filmed arrogantly telling a car dealer in a luxury showroom to sell the most expensive cars in the garage to him, Arabian Business reports. According to a report by state-run news agency, WAM, the video insults and ridicules Emirati society and incites harmful public opinion of citizens. In the viral video, an Asian man in an Emirati dress is seen attempting to buy a car worth $545,000 and other ones while being flanked by people carrying large sums of money. He said, “What is the most expensive car here? Okay. I want the Mercedez, rolls royce and the Red Bull sports car. Meanwhile, the UAE’s Federal Prosecution for Combating Rumours and Cybercrimes has ordered the detention of the man pending investigations after being accused of abusing the internet in posting exciting propaganda that stirs up public opinion and harms the public interest. He was also charged with publishing content that was inconsistent with the media content standards and insulted Emirati society.   The Federal Bureau of Investigation at the UAE Attorney General’s Office also said it monitored a social media video clip in which the defendant was seen wearing an Emirati dress inside a luxury car showroom and followed by two persons carrying what appears to be large sums of money. The video showed the man talking with the owner of the showroom and “arrogantly” asking to buy a car valued at more than AED2m ($545,000). According to the UAE’s FBI, “He was shown distributing financial packages to the showroom employees in a way that reveals imprudence and lack of appreciation of the value of money. “The video promotes a wrong and offensive mental image of Emirati citizens and ridicules them, and then incites and provokes public opinion, which harms the public interest. “The Public Prosecution ordered the summoning of the owner of the car showroom in which the aforementioned video clip was filmed.” The Public Prosecution urged social media users in the UAE to observe the legal and ethical regulations in the media content they publish and to consider societal characteristics and embedded values of the UAE society that call for moral commitment in all aspects of behaviour, to avoid falling under the force of the law.

  A 23 years old man, identified as Victor Benjamin has died in a popular hotel located along the East West Road axis in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State. Vanguard gathered that the deceased had lodged in room No: 414 of Wetland hotel Ughelli, on Saturday before his mysterious untimely death on Sunday. According sources, “The young man had gone to the hotel to relax and when his friends came looking for him, a receptionist told them that he has checked out of the hotel. “Not satisfied with the answer of the receptionist, they went to the room of the deceased only to find his lifeless body on the floor and they raised alarm.” the anonymous source revealed. When contacted via phone call, an investor in the hotel, Richard Kpedi Esq said, “I was told a young man checked into the hotel at about 11-12 in the night and during the routine check and checkout time at about 1:pm his body was found on the floor. “When the house keeper got there he saw the man, he went and call his manager and he came, luckily for them, his relations were already coming because they said he came from Ghana. “He was rushed to the hospital in Ughelli there and when they got there, the doctors confirmed him dead on arrival. “We as a corporate organisation, we decide to inform the police and a statement under caution was taken from the management, before we talked about bail and all that. “I think the next thing now is to wait for the autopsy report and know the cause of his death” When contacted the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Edafe Bright said, “I will find out.” However, a source from the Delta State Police Command who confirmed the incident stated that the deceased lodged in the on July 7 and at about 2:pm the next day being July 8, his corpse was found lying on the floor. According to the security source who spoke on anonymous condition said, “The Chief Security Officer, CSO, of Wetland Hotel Ughelli, Oglagha Selebibia came to incident the case about the guest and their discovery. “He was rushed to Shekinah, a private hospital where he was confirmed dead by the Doctor and his body has been deposited at the morgue awaiting the autopsy report and while further investigation is ongoing.” As at the time of this report, it was further gathered the Manager of the Hotel was in police custody, though it could not be confirmed.

  Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has forwarded a letter of extension on medical leave to the State House of Assembly.   This notice came after his doctors advised him on the need to take adquate rest after recuperating. Receiving the letter on behalf of other lawmakers, the Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Olamide Oladiji, said Akeredolu’s action was in line with Section 190 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). According to the letter, Akeredolu’s deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa would continue to act as governor until there is a written declaration to the contrary. Akeredolu had in a letter dated June 5, 2023, earlier informed the House of his decision to proceed on medical leave and was expected to resume on July 6, 2023.

  The Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah, has said that Nigerians witnessed the worst phase of corruption under the last administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari. He said this while delivering a keynote speech at the 60th call to bar anniversary celebration of legal icon, Aare Afe Babalola, in Ado Ekiti, the capital of Ekiti State on Monday. Bishop Kukah noted that even though corruption did not start under the last administration, they amplified it in moral, financial and other terms. “We have seen the worst phase of corruption in Nigeria, Femi Falana, my friend here will speak about that because he has published a series of articles talking about what happened under the Buhari administration. “They were not the ones who caused corruption but I think in the last administration, we saw the ugliest phase of corruption whether in moral terms, financial terms and other terms,” Kukah said. The clergyman lamented that Nigeria is sharing its sovereignty which is guaranteed in the constitution with bandits and other terrorists. He said that nobody is excited now about being a Nigerian even if they are President or Senators, as the country is literally being held hostage by people who threaten the very existence of our democracy and country. Kukah noted that a lot of Nigerians have lost faith in the judiciary but added that he considers the judiciary a victim the same way every other institution in Nigeria is suffering a crisis. According to him, Nigeria should not yet assume that it is a democracy but instead assume that it is matching towards democracy, which means rebuilding Nigeria “after the kind of mess the last administration has left the country.” The Bishop said it is time to rebuild the country, adding that no matter what happens at the Supreme Court concerning the election, he is convinced that Nigerians have put the “ugly past” behind them. The event celebrating 60 years at the bar of the founder of the Afe Babalola University Ado Ekiti, attracted a host of dignitaries including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Femi Falana, SAN, former Commonwealth Secretary-General Emeka Anyaoku among others.

  A Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, stopped the Independent National Electoral Commission from prosecuting the suspended Adamawa Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hudu Yunusa-Ari, over his declaration of Aisha Dahiru, the All Progressives Congress candidate, as governor in the March 18 poll. Justice Donatus Okorowo made the order after Mr. Michael Aondoaka, SAN, counsel to Dahiru, moved the ex-parte motion to the effect. In the ex-parte motion marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/935/2023, the APC candidate in the poll, sued INEC, the Attorney-General of the Federation, and another as respondents. Aondoaka while moving the motion on Monday, argued that until the election petition tribunal decides the fate of his client in accordance with Section 149 of the Electoral Act, 2022, the prosecution of Yunusa-Ari cannot be said to be valid. He said the decision of INEC to file an action against any person involved in Dahiru’s April 15 declaration as winner of the supplementary poll in the state when the tribunal was yet to determine the petition of his client, would deprive her of Section 285(6) of the law which gives 180 days within which the petition filed on May 6 should be dispensed with. The senior lawyer, who informed the court that though a similar suit was earlier filed before Justice Inyang Ekwo where a judicial review of INEC’s action was sought, he said the sister court ordered Binani to approach a tribunal with her suit, having been an election-related matter. He said an undertaking had been signed to prove to the court that the present suit was not frivolous. He said in the undertaking, they were ready to face any cost should the court find the case to be frivolous. After listening to Andoaka, Justice Okorowo ordered the parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum pending the hearing and determination of the matter. The judge, who adjourned the matter until July 18 for a hearing, ordered the respondents to show cause while the reliefs sought by Dahiru, popularly called “Binani”, should not be granted, NAN