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Edo: Forgery/Impersonation: Court Admits WAEC Tendered Copy Against Lawmaker

Published

3 years ago

June 9, 2021

A Criminal Court 1 of the Edo High Court, on Wednesday, admitted in evidence a certified copy of the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) certificate against lawmaker-elect of the Edo State House of Assembly (EDHA), Mr Ugiagbe Onaiwu.

Onaiwu is one of the 14 lawmakers elect, who refused to present themselves for inauguration in June 2019, when Governor Godwin Obaseki issued the proclamation instrument.

The 14, whose seats had since been declared vacant by a Port Harcourt Federal High Court, had rather preferred to pitch tent with the erstwhile National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, as the former labour leader fought for the soul of the party with his estranged political godson, Obaseki, in the build up to the 2020 governorship election, which the governor won on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

The court, presided over by Justice Efe Ikponmwoba admitted the certified copy of the WAEC result, after listening to the arguments on the admissibility of the document from counsel to both the complainant and defendant, Peter Ojo and Paul Osarenkhoe respectively.

A staff of the WAEC, Mrs Dupe Elemikhena, who was subpoenaed by the court, had acknowledged the tendered document to be a certified one by the council.

In their argument against the admissibility of the document, Osarenkhoe called for its rejection on the ground that the subpoenaed staff of the council is not the maker of the document.

Osarenkhoe also premised his argument on the fact that relevancy is not only the yardstick for admissibility.

In his counter argument for the admissibility, counsel to the State, Ojo, argued that the first rule of admissbility is in the relevance of a document.

“Since the document is relevant, it should thus be accepted and admitted in this case,” he stated.

Justice Ikponmwoba subsequently adjourned the case to June 30 for the complainant to call his last witness on the case.

It would recalled that the State had instituted a legal action against the EDHA APC candidates for the 2019 general elections on the allegation of forgery and impersonation of the results he presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the poll.

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Man, 38 Escapes Assassination Attempt In Benin

Published

9 months ago

July 22, 2023

Editor

Innocent Omoruyi

By Omokha Andrew

A 38-year-old activist, Innocent Omoruyi, narrowly escaped assassination in the early hours of Wednesday, July 19, 2023 as his residence at Obe Community,Sapele Road in Benin city was attacked by yet to be identified gun men.

The attack which eye witnesses say was viciously executed on Wednesday, July 19, 2023 bore the markings of a dreaded cult group terrorizing Benin City, the state capital.

The Obe, Sapale Road incident, it was learnt, happened soon after Omoruyi left the house to attend to matters of interest some few metres away from his home.

The assailants were said to have shot sporadically in their frustration as residents scampered for safety.

However, Omoruyi escaped unharmed.

One of the eye witnesses who craved anonymity said: “The felons apparently went for the kill, weilding guns and other dangerous weapons. “We are shocked that they didn’t see Innocent Omoruyi who was just some few metres away from home when they arrived”.

“How that happened, only God knows and it was obvious that it wasn’t his time to die yet and just before that not long ago his business place on Lagos Street, Benin City was burnt down in the middle of the night by unknown arsonists.

“This sequence of events is not ordinary. We know it’s politically motivated due to the role he played in the last general elections. He has been advised to go into hiding at the moment for his personal safety”, he concluded.

When contacted, the police Public Relations Officer Chidi Nwabuzor said he was yet to get any information as regards the latest incident. He promised to feed our correspondent with relevant details as soon as they become handy.

Our information source however revealed that the matter has already been incidented at the Love World Police station on Sapele Road, Benin city.

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Nigeria To Earn Over $4bn Revenue As FEC Okays Concession Of Abuja, Kano Airports

Published

11 months ago

May 18, 2023

Editor

Nigeria will earn over $4 billion in nominal revenue as the Federal Executive Council, FEC, on Wednesday okayed the concession of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, to the Corporacion American Airport Consortium, a Luxembourg-based company.

James Odaudu, the Special Assistant on Public Affairs to the Minister of Aviation, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

According to him, the Council also approved that the Federal Ministry of Aviation would be renamed the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace.

The statement noted that the company would make combined upfront payments of $8.5 million for the concession of NAIA and MAKIA.

He added that the development would spur evidential growth within the Nigerian aviation industry.

“In alignment with the Aviation Roadmap, approved by Mr President on 18th October 2016, the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace is delighted to inform all stakeholders, both local and international, and the media, that the concession of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano has been approved by the Federal Executive Council,” the statement said.

In December 2022 and January 2023, Corporacion American Airport Consortium was announced as the preferred bidder for the airport’s concession after scaling through a series of evaluations of technical and financial bids.

Nominal revenues mean income not adjusted for inflation and decreasing purchasing power.

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Russia Expelled From Council Of Europe Amid War With Ukraine

Published

2 years ago

March 16, 2022

Editor

The Council of Europe says it has expelled Russia with immediate effect after 26 years of membership because of the Ukraine war.

The Committee of Ministers took the decision in a special session, the rights body announced in the French city of Strasbourg on Wednesday.

Earlier, Russia had already declared its withdrawal from the Council of Europe after it had taken steps to exclude it.

On Tuesday evening, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe voted unanimously in favour of Russia’s exclusion.

Russia joined the Council of Europe on Feb. 28, 1996.

Together with the formal notification of the withdrawal, the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe also received information from the Russian Federation on Tuesday about its intention to denounce the European Convention on Human Rights.

In a statement on Tuesday evening, the leaders of the Council of Europe once again condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

They expressed their solidarity with the Russian people, who continue to belong to the European family and share its values.

The body said it would continue to stand by Ukraine in the fight against the aggressor.

The Council of Europe monitors the observance of human rights in its 46 member states and is not part of the European Union.

The body reacted to the Russian invasion of Ukraine two weeks ago by suspending Russia’s membership, this decision was considered historic.