News
Appeal Court upholds Ododo’s election as Kogi Governor
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld the election of Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as Governor of Kogi State.
In a judgment yesterday, a panel of the court dismissed the appeal filed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its candidate, Muritala Ajaka, on the grounds that it is unmeritorious.
The Court, which resolved all the four issues, identified for determination, against the appellants, held that the appellant failed to prove allegations of over voting, certificate forgery, among others.
The unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Onyekachi Otisi held that the tribunal, which sat in Abuja, was right to have expunged the evidence of the first witness called by the petitioners (PW1) on the grounds that the evidence was hearsay.
It added that witnesses in election cases, whether subpoenaed or ordinary witnesses, are supposed to front load their witness statement on oath.
“The order of the tribunal expunging the evidence of the PW1 cannot be faulted. The law grants the lower court power to expunge inadmissible evidence brought before it,” the court said.
It also held that the appellants’ claim that the document that Ododo submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were forged, is a pre-election issue, which is handled by the Federal High Court.
“This appeal failed and is hereby dismissed for lacking in merit. There is no order as to cost, parties are to bear their respective cost,” Justice Onyekachi Otisi held.
The court also dismissed appeals by the Action Alliance (AA) and its governorship candidate, Olayinka Braimoh, and of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and its candidate, Dr. Abdullahi Bayawo, for being without merit.
But Ajaka said he will appeal at the Supreme Court.
According to him, the journey to reclaiming his stolen mandate is not limited to the decision of the appellate Court.
“We must remain relentless in our pursuit of justice. We cannot afford to be deterred by setbacks or disheartened by temporary defeats.
“Our cause is just, and our determination will not waver. We must stand united and continue to support our legal team as they navigate these complex legal waters on our behalf. I assure you, our followers, that victory is within our grasp.
We firmly believe that the truth will prevail, and justice will be served.
“We have full faith in the Nigerian judicial system, and we are confident that the apex court will rectify the injustices that have been inflicted upon us once again,” he said.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
US President-elect, Donald Trump’s incoming administration plans to immediately order a series of deportation raids targeting illegal immigrants after his inauguration.
Chicago is expected to be the first major city targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as part of Operation Safeguard, the New York Times reported, citing two people familiar with planning the undertaking.
The massive deportation operation is expected to target criminals and gang members in the United States illegally and run for one week.
Trump has promised to conduct the largest deportation program in U.S. history.
Up to 200 ICE agents are being sent to Chicago to help kick off the operation on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported. The agency has already asked agents to volunteer for the post-inauguration raids.
“There’s gonna be a big raid across the country,” Tom Homan, who will be in charge of U.S. borders once Trump takes office, told Fox News in an interview.
Homan has previously said he will instruct ICE agents to carry out raids on illegal immigrants at their workplaces.
In addition to Chicago, the sweeping crackdown will also target other major U.S. cities with large immigrant populations.
Trump is set to take the oath of office on Monday, January 20, in an inauguration that will take place indoors.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
A faith-based civil society organization, CSO that monitors and reports on Hajj and Umrah activities, the Independent Hajj Reporters, IHR, has commended the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, for selecting a different Saudi-based Hajj service provider for the 2025 Hajj season.
It said the decision would create healthy competition among service providers interested in efficiently, qualitatively, and satisfactorily serving Nigerian pilgrims.
The CSO, in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Malam Ibrahim Muhammed, in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, and made available to our correspondent on Sunday in Abuja, said the quest for improved Hajj services has been a major challenge for Nigerian pilgrims owing to the repeated failure of providing satisfactory services.
”We applauded the decision to pick another service provider that will cater for the needs of pilgrims within the Masha’ir areas during the five days of Hajj,” he said
The national coordinator, who is currently in Saudi Arabia to monitor the pre-Hajj arrangements, said available information shows that the new company, Mashariq Al Dhahabia, is an experienced provider that has served top-rated Hajj countries, like Indonesia and Malaysia, and ranked among the top five Hajj service providers by the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
“The company served 249 706 which is the largest number of Hajj pilgrims during the 2023 hajj. They were awarded as the Best Hajj Service Providers during the 2022 Hajj by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah,” he stated.
IHR said it further understood that NAHCON is planning to recruit another service provider to provide services for very important personalities, VIP pilgrims so as not to repeat the experience of previous years, which is also a desired step forward.
It, however, urged NAHCON to set a parameter of performance for the newly selected service providers to serve as a baseline for determining continuous patronage, advising that such criteria should be based on pilgrims’ satisfaction and adherence to contractual terms.
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