News

Akwa Ibom Chief Judge Threatens To Jail Rights Lawyer Over Bias Accusation

Published

3 years ago

July 2, 2022

The Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom State, Justice Ekaette Obot, has threatened to put behind bars a Lagos-based human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong (Esq) for accusing her of being biased or likelihood of bias in the ongoing libel suit by Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel and Senator Effiong Bob against his client, Leo Ekpenyong, Esq.

It could be recalled that in suits No HU/279/2019 between deacon Udom Emmanuel VS. Leo Ekpenyong Esq and No: HU/273/2019 between Senator Effiong Bob VS Leo Ekpenyong respectively delivered on 2021by Justice Obot, the defendant was found guilty of libel and was asked to pay the governor a sum of N1.5 Billion and a sum of N500Million to Senator Effiong Bob.

Counsel to the defendant, Mr Effiong, however, filed a motion for the judgement to be set aside, insisting that his client was not given a fair hearing; the prayer was later granted by the court.

However, the defence counsel also filed another motion praying the Chief Judge to recuse from the case, alleging prejudice and likelihood of bias.

During a proceeding held at High Court 1, Chief Judge’s court, Barracks road today, the defence counsel said “My Lord, my client Mr Leo Ekpenyong (Esq) has alleged bias, or likelihood of bias of the honourable Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom State, Honourable justice Ekaette Obot.

“That is why we filed an application before this court on the 23 of June 2022 asking the Honourable Chief Judge to disqualify himself from hearing or presiding over this matter. Defendant has raised that the grounds of that application clearly stated but not limited to the fact that in the course of this proceedings my Lord has personally berated us as counsels. I have been described in venomous terms, we know that by law, a court should not address a counsel in that manner. The seeming hostility that characterized the proceedings to set aside the default judgement is discouraging.

“Why we are also asking that my Lord should reassign this matter is because my Lord has already delivered a judgement though in default against Mr Ekpenyong where he asked him to pay gov Udom Emmanuel a sum of N1.5 billion and I came before this court asking that, that judgement should be set aside having been delivered in error and in flagrant violation of right of my client to fair hearing because the date that judgement was given, no hearing notice was issued and the registrar gave that date off record. The court agreed with us that the right of our client was violated and set the case aside.

“We are saying because you have already found the defendant guilty in this matter it is only just and fair that those matters should be reassigned to another Judge to be heard denovo, that is the practice my Lord, for example if the court of appeal has set aside a judgement and sends back the case to be tried before the lower court it usually goes with a consequential order that a new judge should handle that matter, so if the defendant said that he doesn’t have confidence in the honourable Chief Judge of the State to hear his case, it’s only fair that, the matter be reassigned to preserve the dignity, impartiality and honour of the court.

“All we are saying is that we do not have confidence in my Lord to interprete my matter.”

Irked by the submissions of the defence counsel and his (Mr Effiong) refusal to sit when the counsel to the Claimant, Samuel Ikpo asked him to do so, the Chief Judge said the court will not condone unruly behaviour in the courtroom, warning of her power to send him behind bars or petition him to the National body.

According to Justice Obot, “You cannot say that before me, you can’t talk to your senior like that, I don’t know when this man learnt law. You are trying to intimidate your senior, did you see the type of counter you filed over miscellaneous matters I overlooked? I still set aside that judgement only for you to capitalize on it and you want to play on the intelligence of the court? Do not allow me to send you to prison!”

“Saying that when a matter is set aside that it must be reassigned to another Judge is not the practice, it is a lie from the pit of hell.”

The Judge, however, proceeded with the hearing of the witness of the Claimant and later adjourned the case to 27 to 29 July for conclusion of Claimant and hearing of defendants case as well as motions filed even when the defence counsel said the dates were not convenient for him insisting that the case was that of defamation and no urgency in it for accelerated hearing.

Counsel to the Claimant, Mr Ikpo refused to talk to journalists at the end of the session insisting that the matter is sub judice.

But, the defence counsel who spoke to journalists said, “what is worrisome is despite the tendency of the application challenging the jurisdiction of the court raising the issue of bias on the last date in this matter, my Lord allowed the claimant in the two cases to call witnesses even when the jurisdiction of the court is being challenged and those witnesses were called in my absence even when I told them that I missed my flight and we were not there to cross examine them, that was why yesterday we filed a motion to set aside the proceeding including the order for the continuation of hearing.

“Even the proceedings of today were in error and should be set aside and I told the court that the motion should have been determined, my Lord did not determine the two motions and yet insisted that we continue with the hearing. We were basically forced to go into trial today.

“My Lord consistently has accused me of bringing a herbalist to court, how on earth will I do that? I’m not a traditional worshipper but a christian.”

DAILY POST

News

FG Predicts Heavy Rainfall, Flood In Seven States

Published

7 hours ago

August 23, 2025

Editor

The Federal Ministry of Environment on Saturday predicted possible flooding in seven states and 25 locations across Nigeria.

The ministry, in its flood alert warned that heavy rainfall expected between August 23 and 24 could lead to flooding in the listed areas.

The alert was signed by the Director of the Erosion, Flood and Coastal Zone Management Department, Usman Bokani.

He further directed residents of communities along the flood plain from Jebba to Lokoja to evacuate immediately as the River Niger’s water level continues to rise.

“Due to the rise in the water level of River Niger, communities on the flood plain from Jebba to Lokoja are advised to evacuate,” he said.

The states and communities expected to be affected include Benue State (Abinsi, Agyo, Gbajimba, Gogo, Makurdi, Mbapa, Otobi, Otukpo, Udoma, Ukpiam); Borno State (Briyel, Dikwa, MaiduKamba; Gombe State (Bajoga, Dogon Ruwa, Gombe, Nafada); Kebbi State (Gwandu, Jega, Kamba); Nasarawa State (Agima, Keana, Keffi, Odogbo, Rukubi); Niger State (Lapai); and Yobe State (Gashua, Gasma, Potiskum).

On Friday, the National Emergency Management Agency urged residents in high-risk flood plains to evacuate to safer and higher grounds.

The states at high risk according to the agency are Kebbi, Niger, Kwara states that share borders with Benin Republic.

This was disclosed in a press statement signed by the agency’s Head of Press Unit, Manzo Ezekiel.

The Director General of NEMA, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, also directed all NEMA offices covering communities along the River Niger to intensify advocacy and mobilization for flood preparedness following alerts of rising water levels in the upstream of the river in the Republic of Benin.

“In an urgent directive conveyed to the operations offices, Mrs. Zubaida Umar instructed them to sensitize communities to remain vigilant and advise residents in high-risk flood plains to evacuate to safer, higher grounds, especially those in Kebbi, Niger and Kwara states that share borders with Benin Republic.

“She further urged the State Governments of the identified high-risk areas to support their Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs) and Local Emergency Management Committees (LEMCs) in activating contingency plans and preparedness measures to mitigate the potential impact of this year’s flooding.

“The Director General reaffirmed NEMA’s commitment to ensuring coordinated actions to safeguard lives and livelihoods along the River Niger,” the statement noted.

News

‘Court Of Corruption’ — Obasanjo Knocks INEC Chairman, Judiciary In New Book

Published

8 hours ago

August 23, 2025

Editor

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has criticised the Nigerian judiciary, saying it has been “deeply compromised” and that corruption among judges has turned courts into “a court of corruption rather than a court of justice.”

In his new book, Nigeria: Past and Future, Obasanjo laments the steady decline of the Nigerian judiciary’s integrity, warning that justice has become commodified in Nigeria.

“The reputation of the Nigerian judiciary has steadily gone down from the four eras up till today. The rapidity of the precipitous fall, particularly in the Fourth Republic, is lamentable,” Obasanjo wrote.

He expressed concern that the judiciary’s decline poses a significant threat to the nation’s stability.

Obasanjo recounted an incident where a governor showed him six duplex buildings belonging to a judge who allegedly acquired them from money made as chairman of election tribunals. This anecdote, he said, illustrates the depth of corruption in the judiciary.

The former president also accused Mahmood Yakubu, INEC chairman, of undermining the electoral process since 2015.

“No wonder politicians do not put much confidence in an election which the INEC of Professor Mahmood Yakubu polluted and grossly undermined to make a charade,” he said.

Obasanjo further alleged that politicians believe the outcome of election disputes depends on the will of tribunal judges, court of appeal judges, and supreme court judges.

“No matter what the will of the people may be, the Chairman of INEC since after the 2015 election had made his will greater and more important than the will of the people,” he added.

Moreover, Obasanjo directly accused the late former President Muhammadu Buhari of colluding with the judiciary during his election cases.

“Buhari threw caution to the wind, no matter what had transpired between him and the judges who did his bidding. In his election cases, financially, he topped it up with appointments for them no matter their age and their ranks,” Obasanjo alleged.

The former president concluded that the current state of the judiciary and electoral system in Nigeria is alarming, saying, “After a false declaration of results, making losers winners and winners losers, the victim of the cheating is advised to go to court, which is a court of corruption rather than a court of justice.“

News

Sanwo-Olu Unveils Leather Hub, Eyes 10,000 Jobs

Published

8 hours ago

August 23, 2025

Editor

Lagos State Governor, Sanwo-Olu, on Saturday inaugurated a state-of-the-art leather processing and manufacturing hub in Mushin, projected to create 10,000 direct jobs and generate over $250 million in annual export turnover when fully operational.

In a press release sent to PUNCH Online, the governor said the facility was formally inaugurated on Saturday by the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, during her three-day official visit to Lagos.

He added that the hub was named in her honour to recognise her grassroots initiatives in social investment and economic empowerment, with 70 per cent of its employment slots reserved for women and youths.

The hub is equipped with modern machinery to support Nano, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (NMSMEs), enabling mass production of shoes, bags, belts, packaging materials, and other leather products.

It is designed to ease production bottlenecks, scale operations, and position Lagos as the leather logistics capital of West Africa.

Speaking at the inauguration, Tinubu described the hub as a “trailblazing project” aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to diversify Nigeria’s economy through industrialisation, manufacturing, and innovation.

The Lagos State Leather Hub in Mushin, formally commissioned by the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, on Saturday, 23 August 2025.
“Leatherwork is a traditional craft that has stood the test of time. This facility will empower artisans, scale up leather goods production, and enable them to compete confidently in both local and international markets,” she said, urging entrepreneurs to dedicate themselves to excellence and continuous learning.

Sanwo-Olu said the project would provide training and start-up support to over 150,000 artisans, boost the local economy, attract investments, and strengthen trade links with fashion districts, e-commerce platforms, and future rail services.

“Hides and skins that once left our shores unprocessed will now be transformed here in Lagos into world-class footwear, garments, and accessories proudly stamped ‘Made in Lagos, Made in Nigeria’,” the governor said.

He pledged to expand the facility through transparent regulation and continuous infrastructure upgrades, adding: “True dividends of democracy are best felt when they reach the cobbler in Mushin, the tanner in Oko-Oba, and the young fashion designer in Yaba.”

Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Akinyemi Ajigbotafe, said the hub would lower production costs and raise quality standards, positioning Lagos-made leather products for dominance in both local and export markets.