News
Alleged Cyber-Bullying: Court Threatens To Hold Sowore’s Lawyer For Contempt
Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court Abuja, has threatened to commit the lead defence lawyer to a politician and online publisher Omoyele Sowore, for contempt over rudeness in court.
For raising his voice in court, the judge ordered Sowore’s lawyer, Marshall Abubakar, to “come out and kneel down” in open court.
Other lawyers, however, quickly prevailed upon the judge to forgive their colleague.
Sowore is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) for allegedly making false claims against the person of President Bola Tinubu by referring to him as “a criminal” in a post he made on his “X” and Facebook accounts.
The activist’s lawyer drew the ire of the judge when he raised his voice while making submissions in court, insisting that the date chosen by the court for the defence to open its case was not convenient for him.
Trouble started when, shortly after Abubakar concluded cross examination of the only prosecution witness.
The prosecuting lawyer announced the closure of the case and applied that the defence be called upon to open its case.
When asked by the judge when he planned to open his defence, Abubakar said the defendant would make a no-case submission and suggested that the court should adjourn till a date in July.
The prosecuting lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), objected and argued that it was part of the defence’s tactics intended to further delay proceedings.
He suggested that the case be given an accelerated hearing and be heard on a daily basis.
In his intervention, the judge regretted that, while the prosecution was swift in conducting its case, the defence spent four days cross-examining the prosecution’s only witness.
The judge said it was not feasible to hear the case on a daily basis, but directed parties to return on April 13 for the adoption of their final written addresses in respect of the no-case submission.
Whilst Sowore was addressing the judge from the witness box on how the proposed date might affect his party’s upcoming primaries, his lawyer also simultaneously began addressing the judge, narrating how his client was poised to wrest power from President Bola Tinubu.
“This court belongs to all of us. This court is not for some people alone. It belongs to all of us,” said Abubakar.
Attempts by the judge to make the lawyer lower his voice were unsuccessful.
At that point, Justice Umar bellowed, “If you shout in this court again, I will commit you for contempt. In fact, come here! Come and kneel down here!” pointing to a spot in front of the courtroom.
On realising the unsavoury turn of events, other lawyers, led by the only SAN in the courtroom, Akinlolu Kehinde, jumped to their feet and began begging the judge to forgive the aberrant lawyer.
While the lawyers were still upstanding begging, the judge pronounced that the case had been adjourned till April 13 for adoption, and rose for the day.
Earlier, when the case was called in the morning, Kehinde told the court that Sowore had a recording device with him in the dock.
He urged the court to direct that the device be taken from the defendant.
But Sowore denied being in possession of any recording device, adding that he only had with him his eye glasses, power bank, and phone.
Justice Umar recalled that the court had earlier made an order that the defendant should not bring any gadget with him while in the dock.
The judge then asked him to submit the items to his lawyers, which he handed to a court official, who transferred them to Sowore’s lawyer.
When asked to proceed with the case, Abubakar claimed to have only learnt about Monday’s sitting a few moments before the court’s session began.
He said he was not in court with the case file because he was in another court for a separate case. He then applied for a stand-down until 12:30 pm to enable him to retrieve the file from his office.
Although Kehinde objected, arguing that it was a ploy by the defence to further delay proceedings, the judge granted the stand down.
When proceedings resumed at about 1 p.m., Abubakar cross-examined the sole prosecution witness, Cyril Nosike (a DSS operative), for about two hours.
He also tendered copies of newspaper publications, some of which he later gave to the witness to read.
Iran slammed a US blockade around its ports on Monday as a “grave violation” of its sovereignty, as Washington and Tehran’s belligerent rhetoric rattled a fragile truce.
“The imposition of a maritime blockade constitutes a grave violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani wrote to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in a letter seen by AFP.
The “unlawful” blockade also “constitutes a serious violation of the fundamental principles of the international law of the sea,” Iravani added.
US President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of ships entering or leaving Iranian ports and coastal areas in the Gulf Sunday, following the failure of peace talks over the weekend, warning that any Iranian attack boats that challenged the blockade would be destroyed.
The blockade came into force at 1400 GMT Monday, despite the United States and Iran agreeing to a two-week ceasefire days earlier, with mediator Pakistan and Gulf state Qatar continuing calls for it to be respected as diplomatic efforts continue.
Guterres on Monday called on “all parties” to respect freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, after Iran and subsequently the United States blocked passage through the critical waterway.
The strait, through which a fifth of global oil and gas flows, has become a key flashpoint as the US and Iran attempt to gain leverage over each other during ceasefire negotiations.
Iravani said the “unlawful” blockade “poses a grave threat to international peace and security and obviously exacerbates the risk of escalation in an already highly volatile region.”
In a second letter, the UN envoy called on Middle Eastern countries hosting US military bases to “cease their internationally wrongful acts.”
Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan should pay “compensation for all material and moral damage sustained,” he said.
Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has distanced himself from recent media reports linking him to certain political aspirations, saying the comments were made without his knowledge or authorisation.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by his Media Adviser, Muyiwa Adekeye, El-Rufai said the remarks had been attributed to an unnamed individual described in media reports as his political associate, and that he had no hand in them.
“Malam Nasir El-Rufai wishes to dissociate himself from comments regarding political aspirations which have been attributed to someone described by the media as a political associate,” the statement read.
“He did not authorise such comments.”
The disclaimer pointedly underscored El-Rufai’s reputation for speaking his mind directly, with the statement noting that he had been known throughout his public life for the frank articulation of his views.
“He is not about to outsource the expression of his political views and thoughts to others,” the statement added, warning that any future communication from the former governor would come directly from him or through his designated spokesperson.
El-Rufai did not identify the associate in question, nor did the statement specify the nature of the political aspirations that had been reported.
However, the swift and emphatic denial suggests the former governor was keen to prevent any impression that the comments reflected his current political thinking or intentions.
JAMB declares readiness for 2026 UTME, urges parents to protest admission violations
The disclaimer comes amid heightened political activity ahead of the 2027 general elections, a period in which the positions and affiliations of prominent political figures are under intense media and public scrutiny.
El-Rufai, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and two-term governor of Kaduna State, remains one of the most closely watched political figures in northern Nigeria.
His next political move — including which party platform he may adopt ahead of 2027 — has been a subject of widespread speculation.
The Yobe State Police Command said its operatives have arrested three suspected vandals involved in the destruction and theft of transformer components belonging to Yobe State Television at Garin Alkali Booster Station.
The Command, through its Public Relations Officer, SP Dungus Abdulkarim, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday in Damaturu.
According to the Command, the arrest was made on April 14, 2026, by its operatives stationed in Garin Alkali while acting on credible intelligence.
“The arrested suspects are Muhammad Auwali, a.k.a. Aburare, 51, Inusa Lawan, 53, and Hassan Ibrahim, 27, all of Bursari and Gashua axis, Bade LGA. One accomplice identified as Ozu, is currently at large.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspects criminally conspired and vandalised a transformer located at the YTV Booster Station, Garin Alkali, Bursari LGA.
“The suspects dismantled the transformer and sold part of the metal components”, it said.
The Command added that upon interrogation, the suspects confessed to the crime and admitted to selling some of the vandalised transformer parts to Hassan Ibrahim for the sum of N250,000, out of which N150,000 had already been paid.
“Investigation is in progress, after which the suspects will be charged in court for prosecution”, the police command said.
Commissioner of Police Usman Kamfani Jibrin, in the statement, warned scrap metal dealers against purchasing suspected stolen items and urged them to cooperate with security agencies in protecting critical public infrastructure.
He stressed that anyone found involved in such unlawful activities will be dealt with in accordance with extant laws.
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El-Rufai distances self from comments on political aspirations attributed to associate
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