Headline

Justice Odili: Court Grants N5m Bail To ASP, Others

Published

4 years ago

January 17, 2022

A Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, granted bail to three out of the remaining 15 suspects who allegedly invaded the residence of the Supreme Court judge, Mary Odili.

Justice Nkeonye Maha admitted them to a N5 million bail each, following an application separately filed by their counsel not opposed to by lawyer to the police, Mathew Omosun.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Justice Maha had on December 15, 2021, refused to grant bail to an assistant superintendent of police, Mohammed Yahaya; Abdullahi Adamu; and Abdullahi Usman, on the grounds that no bail application was filed before the court on their behalf.

The judge had ordered that the three defendants be remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre till the next hearing fixed for trial commencement.

All 15 defendants had earlier pleaded not guilty to 18 charges, including forgery, criminal trespass, intimidation, extortion, among others, linked to their alleged invasion of Odili’s home in Abuja on October 29, 2021.

Delivering the ruling, Justice Maha ordered that the defendants must produce two sureties each.

The judge also directed that the two sureties for each of the defendants must be responsible citizens, and one of them must possess a landed property in Abuja with a verified certificate of occupancy.

Maha also ruled that the second surety must be gainfully employed in Abuja, having paid his or her tax dues for three years. She said the documents of the landed property should be submitted to the registry of the court.

The judge, who ordered that the defendants must submit their passports to the registry, directed that all the defendants be remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre pending the perfection of their bail terms.

The judge noted that though the prosecution did not oppose the applications, this did not preclude the court from looking at the merit of the matter based on the Supreme Court decision.

She said the court also had the discretion to grant the bail.

NAN reports that the Federal Government, through the Nigerian Police Force, had produced the 15 suspects before Maha for arraignment on an 18-count charge bordering on forgery, criminal trespass, intimidation, extortion, among others, contrary to the sections of the law.

In the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/436/2021, they were also alleged to have threatened Mrs Odili and members of her household while trying to execute an illegal search warrant.

Although 22 defendants are charged in the case, seven of them were

Headline

12 Die, 30 Missing In Peru Landslide

Published

12 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

At least 12 people, including three children, died in a landslide at a river port in central Peru on Monday, and 30 were reported missing, officials said.

The landslide submerged a boat with about 50 passengers on board, and another with none, as they were docked at the port of Iparia in the Amazon jungle region of Ucayali, according to a police report cited by the Andina news agency.

Six people were injured, it added, and a search and rescue operation was underway at the start of the Peruvian rainy season.

Without giving a toll, Peru’s COEN national emergency operations centre said on X that tragedy struck at dawn due to “erosion” of the bank of the Ucayali river.

It said the navy has been called in to help.

AFP

Headline

Nigeria Grants Asylum To Guinea-Bissau Opposition Candidate

Published

12 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian embassy in Guinea-Bissau has granted asylum to Fernando Dias da Costa, the country’s opposition presidential candidate, following alleged threats to his life after last week’s military coup, The Cable Reports.

The coup was announced by military officers on Wednesday, just days after Guinea-Bissau’s presidential election in which both incumbent President Umaro Embaló and his main challenger, da Costa, claimed victory before official results were released.

Nigeria condemned the takeover and urged an immediate return to constitutional order.

In a letter to the President of the Economic Community of West African States Commission, Omar Touray, dated November 30, the Foreign Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said President Bola Tinubu had approved asylum and protection for da Costa inside the Nigerian embassy in Bissau.

Tuggar wrote that the decision was made “in response to threats made against da Costa’s life.”

“In this regard, it would be appreciated if you would kindly mandate the ECOWAS Stabilisation Support Mission in Guinea-Bissau to provide him protection and security while in the premises of the Nigerian embassy,” the letter stated.

The foreign affairs minister’s Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy, Alkasim Abdulkadir, confirmed the letter’s authenticity to The Cable on Monday.

He said, “The decision of the Federal Government of Nigeria to grant asylum and provide protection to Fernando Dia Da Costa falls squarely within Nigeria’s sovereign responsibility and longstanding commitment to regional peace, stability, and democratic governance.”

He added that Nigeria acted “in the broader interest of de-escalation,” saying the government had exercised its discretion “to prevent further deterioration of tensions and to promote social cohesion in Guinea-Bissau and the wider West African sub-region.”

According to Abdulkadir, the intervention aligns with ECOWAS principles and reflects Nigeria’s role as a stabilising force in West Africa.

Following the coup, ECOWAS held an emergency virtual summit of heads of state and subsequently suspended Guinea-Bissau from the regional bloc until constitutional order is restored.

Headline

Trump To Attend FIFA World Cup Finals Draw On Friday

Published

13 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

The White House on Monday confirmed US President Donald Trump would attend the draw for the FIFA World Cup finals in Washington later this week.

The United States will co-host the 2026 tournament alongside Canada and Mexico.

“On Friday, President Trump will attend the FIFA World Cup final draw at the Kennedy Centre,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

Trump has made the World Cup a centrepiece event of both his second presidency and the 250th anniversary of US independence next year.

But the giant sporting extravaganza has not escaped the political turmoil caused by Trump’s hardline stance on a host of issues.

Trump, a Republican, has raised the possibility of moving games from some US host cities amid a crackdown on what he says is crime and illegal migration in some Democratic-run areas.

AFP