Adeleke vs Oyetola: What Supreme Court decided on Monday
The Supreme Court
has fixed judgment for July 5, 2019 in the appeals filed by Senator Ademola
Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with respect to the disputed last
governorship election in Osun State.
A seven-man panel
of the court, led by the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim
Muhammad, chose the date after taking final arguments regarding the main
appeal, marked: SC/553/2019 filed by Adeleke.
Adeleke, who filed
four appeals, is challenging the May 9, 2019 judgment of the Court of Appeal,
Abuja, which affirmed the election of Adegboyega Oyetola of the All
Progressives Congress (APC) as the governor of Osun State.
The Court of Appeal
also set aside the majority judgment of the election tribunal which had allowed
Adeleke’s petition and declared him winner of the election.
On Monday, by
agreement of lawyers in the appeals, the court took submissions from Onyechi
Ikpeazu (SAN) for the appellants and Wole Olanipekun (SAN) for the 1st
respondent (Oyetola) in respect of appeal marked: SC/553/2019.
The court said its
judgment in the main appeal – SC/553/2019 – will be applied to two other
similar one, filed by Adeleke against the Court of Appeal’s decision in
relation to the appeals filed by the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) and the APC.
The court, which
stood down proceedings for a while, is expected to resume soon to take the last
fourth appeal by Adeleke, marked: SC/556/2019.
Other members of
the panel are: Justices Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, Kumai Aka’ahs, Kudirat
Kekere-Ekun, Amiru Sanusi, Paul Galunmje and Uwani Abbah-Aji
N69bn alleged fraud: Chief Judge transfers Fayose’s trial to another
judge
The Chief Judge (CJ)
of the Federal High Court on Friday transferred the trial of the former
Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, charged with alleged N6.9 billion
fraud, to a new judge.
The CJ, Justice
Adamu Abdu-Kafarati, transferred the case from the former judge, Justice
Mojisola Olatoregun, to Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke.
The action,
followed a petition by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),
seeking a transfer of the case.
Fayose was
arraigned on Oct. 22, 2018, by the EFCC, alongside a company, Spotless
Investment Ltd, on 11 counts bordering on fraud and money laundering offence.
He had pleaded not
guilty to the charge and was granted bail on Oct. 24, 2018, in the sum of N50
million with sureties in like sum, while the prosecution opened trial on Nov.
19, and had so far called 13 witnesses out of 15 listed.
On March 20, a
drama ensued in court midway into the trial, between the trial judge, and EFCC
counsel, Mr Rotimi Jacobs, SAN.
The judge raised
concerns on the manner of prosecution by counsel, and had noted that the
prosecutor was not doing a good job, adding that he was not competent to
evaluate the court’s ruling.
On his part, the
prosecutor expressed his displeasure on the grounds that he had always
dispensed his duties diligently and had never been derogated by any court.
Meanwhile, at the
last proceedings on May 10, the 13th prosecution witness, Mr Adewale
Aladegbola, a former driver of a bullion van, had given evidences which the
prosecutor described as being contrary to his extrajudicial statement to the
commission.
On this premise,
the prosecutor informed the court that his witness appeared “hostile” and urged
the court to adjourn the case to enable him make necessary application on the
situation.
Continuation of
trial was billed to resume on June 10.
However, the CJ
conveyed the transfer of the case from Justice Olatoregun to Justice Aneke, by
a letter dated May 23, a copy of which was obtained by newsmen,NAN reports.
The CJ said: “I
refer to the petition of EFCC on this case and your Lordship’s comments
thereto.
“It is apparent
that the prosecution has lost confidence in the judge trying this case and
justice must not only be done but must be seen to have been done, I hereby
transfer this case to Hon. Justice C. J. Aneke for hearing.”
A new date for the
case before Aneke has however not been confirmed.
The matter will
consequently begin afresh before the new judge, as the defendant will take his
plea again.
During the trial
before Olatoregun, the prosecution had called witnesses, from Zenith Bank,
Diamond Bank, as well as a former Minister of State for Defence, Sen. Musiliu
Obanikoro.
According to the
charge, on June 17, 2014, Fayose and Agbele were said to have taken possession
of the sum of N1.2 billion, for purposes of funding his gubernatorial election
campaign in Ekiti State, which sum they reasonably ought to have known formed
part of crime proceeds.
Fayose was alleged
to have received a cash payment of five million dollars, (about N1.8 billion)
from the then Minister of State for Defence, Sen. Musiliu Obanikoro, without
going through any financial institution and which sum exceeded the amount
allowed by law.
He was also alleged
to have retained the sum of N300 million in his Zenith Bank account and took
control of the aggregate sums of about N622 million which sum he ought to have
known formed part of crime proceeds.
Fayose was alleged
to have procured De Privateer Ltd and Still Earth Ltd, to retain in their
Zenith and FCMB accounts, the aggregate sums of N851 million which they
reasonably ought to have known formed part of crime proceeds.
Besides, the
accused was alleged to have used about N1.6 billion to acquire properties in
Lagos and Abuja, which he reasonably ought to have known formed part of crime
proceeds.
The accused was
also alleged to have used the sum of N200 million, to acquire a property in
Abuja, in the name of his elder sister, Moji Oladeji, which sum he ought to
know also forms crime proceeds.
The offence
contravened the provisions of sections 15(1), 15 (2), 15 (3), 16(2)(b), 16 (d),
and 18 (c) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011.
Two delivery men arraigned in court for allegedly stealing goods worth
N23m
Two delivery men,
who allegedly diverted their employer’s milk worth N23 million to their
personal use, were on Thursday, brought before a Yaba Chief Magistrates’ Court
in Lagos.
According to the
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the defendants, James Oja, 47, and Sunny Ejidike,
52, are facing a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining by false
pretence and stealing.
Mr Augustine
Nwabuisi, the Police prosecutor, told the court that the defendants committed
the offences on May 3.
Nwabuisi said the
defendants had picked the milk in a Mark truck registered AJL 924 XW for
delivery to their employer, FCMG, located at No. 13, Fati Atere str., Mushin
area of Lagos.
He however told the
court that the two defendants diverted the truck, stole all the goods and sold
them.
Nwabuisi listed the
items in the delivery truck as: 731 tins of Forto instant milk, 179 sachets of
Kerry gold milk, 24 cartons of Kerry gold tin, 15 bags of Forto instant milk
and 2 bags of Kerry gold milk.
He equally told the
court that the total value of the milk was N23 million.
He said, “My Lord,
when they missed their delivery day, the head of logistics came to the station
and reported the theft.
“During
investigations, we discovered that the defendants had rerouted the truck to a
different location, offloaded the milk and sold some of them.”
The offences
contravened Sections 287 (7), 314 and 411 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State
2015 (Revised).
The offence of
obtaining by false pretences attracts 15 years jail term while that of stealing
from one’s employer attracts seven years.
The defendants,
however, pleaded not guilty to the charge and were granted bail in the sum of
N5 million with two sureties each in like sum.
Chief Magistrate
Oluwatoyin Oghere said that all the sureties must be gainfully employed with
evidence of three years tax payment to the Lagos State Government.
Oghere adjourned
the case till August 7 for trial.
Singer Shakira lands in court over alleged tax fraud
Popular Colombian singer,
Shakira has appeared in a Spanish court on Thursday to answer tax fraud
charges.
The prosecutors
accused her of failing to pay up to 14.5 million Euros ($16.29 million) in
taxes on income earned between 2012 and 2014.
Shakira arrived at
Esplugues de Llobregat Court near Barcelona in the morning, through the court’s
car park entrance, to avoid the media and was seen briefly through a window,
NAN reports.
Prosecutors filed
charges last December for the period they said Shakira was living in the region
of Catalonia but the singer’s representatives said she did not live in Spain
until 2015 and had met all her tax obligations.
The 42-year-old
singer and the FC Barcelona Defender, Gerard Pique, have been together since
2011 and they have two children.
Shakira had
appeared in court in May to face accusations of plagiarism for “La Bicicleta’’,
a song she played with Carlos Vives, though the lawsuit was dismissed after the
court ruled that they did not copy it.
