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BREAKING: Court Stops FG From Retrying Ex-Abia Gov, Uzor Kalu

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The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, barred the Federal Government from retrying the former Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, based on the N7.1billion money laundering charge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, earlier preferred against him.

The court, in a judgement that was delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo, held that the Supreme Court did not in the verdict it gave on May 8, 2020, order the retrial of either Kalu or his his firm, Slok Nigeria Limited.

Justice Ekwo held that the Supreme Court only ordered the retrial of former Director of Finance in Abia State, Jones Udeogu, who was the Appellant before it.

Consequently, he upheld a suit Kalu filed to challenge the legal propriety of his planned re-arraingment by the EFCC.

Kalu had in the Application he filed through his team of lawyers let by Chief Awa Kalu, SAN, argued that allowing the EFCC to try him afresh on the charge and same facts upon which he was earlier convicted and sentenced on December 5, 2019, would occasion him to suffer a “double jeopardy”.

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According to him, “The unassailable position of the law is that no person who shows that he has been tried by any court of competent jurisdiction or tribunal for a criminal offence and either convicted or acquitted, shall again be tried for that offence having the same ingredients as that offence, save upon the order or a competent Court.

“The trial of the Applicant having been pronounced a nullity by the Supreme Court in its judgment dated the 8th day of May, 2020 and without more, cannot entitle the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to institute the same charge against the Applicant”.

Canvassing reasons why his trial should not commence de-novo (afresh), Kalu, said he was convicted and sentenced by Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court in Lagos with respect to the extant charge against him

“That following the conviction and sentence of the Applicant, the Applicant was incarcerated at the Kuje Correctional Centre where he served part of his term having spent a few days in the Ikoyi Correctional Centre”.

He noted that the Supreme Court had in the judgement it delivered on May 8, 2020, on Appeal No: SC.62C/2019, which was filed by his co-Defendant, Udeogu, held that the trial of the Appellant at the trial Court was conducted without jurisdiction.

He argued that the apex court thereafter, only ordered the retrial of the Appellant (Udeogu), without reference to himself (Kalu).

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That there is no extant Ruling or Judgment of a competent Court in Nigeria ordering the retrial of the Applicant having regard to the fact that the Supreme Court excluded the Applicant from the explicit order for retrial arising from Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/56/07 F. R. N. VS. Orji Uzor Kalu & 2 Ors”, Kalu argued.

Consequently, he prayed the court for an order of perpetual injunction restraining FG, through the EFCC or its agents, from further trying, harassing and intimidating him with respect to the charge or any other charge based on the same facts “as the Applicant need not suffer double jeopardy”.

(VANGUARD)

 

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8-year-old Survives As Bus Carrying 46 Pilgrims Crashes In South Africa

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A bus crash led to the death of 45 passengers in South Africa on Thursday.

The bus, which crashed through a barrier of a bridge, caught fire after it fell off a bridge approximately 300km north of Johannesburg in the Northeastern Limpopo province.

BBC reports that only an eight-year-old child survived the accident with multiple injuries.

READ ALSO: Nigeria Ranks 109 In World Hungry Nations – Peter Obi Laments

The passengers were said to be pilgrims travelling from Botswana’s capital Gaborone to an Easter service in the town of Moria.

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The vehicle lost control and went off a bridge on the Mmamatlakala mountain pass between Mokopane and Marken, around 300km (190 miles) north of Johannesburg, according to South African public broadcaster SABC.

Speaking with reporters after visiting the scene, Sindisiwe Chikunga, South Africa’s Minister of Transportation, said the government will carry out an investigation to determine the cause of the accident.

READ ALSO: FG To Review Oil Firms’ Plans On Gas Flaring

Chikunga said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time.

“We continue to urge responsible driving at all times with heightened alertness as more people are on our roads this Easter weekend.”

In his Easter message to South Africans, President Cyril Ramaphosa called on citizens to “do our best to make this a safe Easter.”

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Man Stabs Four To Death In US

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Four people, including a teenage girl, were killed and at least five injured after a man went on a stabbing spree at multiple addresses in the US state of Illinois, police have said.

The stabbings took place on Wednesday afternoon, Rockford City Police said in a statement, adding that a 22-year-old suspect was taken into custody.

The statement did not say anything about a possible motive.

Rockford is located about 90 miles northwest of Chicago.

READ ALSO: Gender Balancing: Tellthatstory Empowers Women In African Storytelling

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Those killed included a 15-year-old girl, a 63-year-old woman, and two men aged 49 and 22, according to the police.

The police statement said that five people had been wounded, but US media later cited the police saying seven were wounded.

Details later

AFP

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[JUST IN] Okuama Killings: Army Declares Eight Persons Wanted [FULL LIST]

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The Nigerian Army has declared Eight persons wanted in connection with the killing of 17 soldiers in the Okuama community in Delta state.

The Nigerian Army disclosed this on its official X account on Thursday.

The persons declared wanted include seven men and one woman.

Full list:

They are Akevwru Daniel Omotegbono, Prof Ekpekpo Arthur, Andaowei Dennis Bakriki, Igoli Ebi (female), Akata Malawa David, Sinclear Oliki, Clement Ikolo Oghenerukevwe and Reuben Baru.

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Okuama killings: Background
The suspected mastermind of the bloodbath, a militant leader, and his gang members, who are currently on the run, seem to have their operational stamping ground at Igbomotoru, a riverside community in the Southern-Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

However, the Nigerian Army, which has spread its dragnet for the fleeing suspects, went as far as Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, to pick up three persons, last Tuesday, in connection with the killing of the soldiers.

READ ALSO: Delta Killings: Military Sets To Build Barracks On Okuama As Demolition Of Houses Continues

So far, the demanding search for the killers of the soldiers in the quiet Okuama has spread to the creeks, hideouts, and communities in Delta State, Bayelsa, and Rivers states, and is likely to extend to other states in the Niger-Delta, and outside the region if need be, according to sources.

According to VANGUARD, many believe the killing of the soldiers was beyond the land dispute between Okuama and Okoloba in the Bomadi local government area, as insiders point to divergences on oil bunkering.

Lt. Col Ali was reportedly bent on stopping oil thieves in his operational area and had made appreciable inroads. There was suspicion that his killing with other military personnel could be a setup.

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We know who did it – General Musa, CDS

The Chief of the Defense Staff, CDS, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, who had given his troops marching orders to track down the killers, alluded to this notion.

Musa said: “I know him, the C.O himself, Lt. Col. Ali. Because of recent, we emphasized that we want oil production in Nigeria to increase so that we will be able to have enough foreign exchange for things to go down. Because we all know the challenges we are facing.

READ ALSO: Okuoma Ambush: Troops Recover Decomposing Hearts Of Killed Soldiers

“And so, he insisted that all illegal activities within his general area must stop. He directed all the troops and they were stopping illegal bunkering, and then these are the people benefiting from it. And so when this issue came up, it became an opportunity for them to do away with him, which is exactly what happened.

“We know who did it, we are following up on him, and it is just a matter of time, we are sure we are going to get him. They took away our arms, we must get those arms back, and we must get these guys so that they would be prosecuted accordingly.”

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From our findings, the countryside people of Okuama are not sophisticated enough to carry out this kind of attack on military officers.

And from the CDS declaration that “we know who did it..,” he confirmed that the premeditated killing was connected to oil bunkering, so why did the troops go after helpless Okuama women and children, and even razed the community?

However, the Army, on Friday, admitted knowledge of the viral video by a militant leader who confessed to participating in killing the 16 soldiers.

It noted: “The video among other things helps to narrow investigation to persons of interest and their cohorts.

“Accordingly, the state governments and host communities of these personalities are required to assist investigation in flushing out these culprits.

“There can be no hiding place for perpetrators of such dastardly act against the nation. This is a clarion call to duty by members of those communities and the state governments”.

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