Headline

NDDC Forensic Audit Report: Citizen Drags Malami, Akpabio To Court

Published

4 years ago

October 28, 2021

A Nigerian citizen, Christian Moses Abeh, has taken legal action against the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami(SAN), and Minister of Niger Delta, Senator Godswill Akpabio, over the final report of the forensic audit of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.

In his suit before a Federal High Court in Asaba, Delta State, the applicant is seeking an order of mandamus by the law court compelling the respondents to furnish him, within seven days, with the complete final report of the forensic audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.

Abeh in a motion on notice brought pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, by his solicitor, O. E Emetanjo Esq., further urged the court to “order the respondents to within seven days of the judgment of court to pay jointly and severally the sum of N500, 000 as fine to the applicant for failure to disclose the report of audit as demanded.”

His solicitor had in a letter dated September 17 to the first applicant, entitled: “Request for Public Records Pursuant to Section 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2011 Laws of the Federation”, applied for a certified true copy of the complete final report of the forensic audit of NDDC “received by you on 9/8/2011 from the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio.

“Our client’s reason for demanding for the said final report is because he is a Nigerian citizen of Oyede, Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta State, who watches the activities of NDDC in other to report any illegal act or problem that happens at the said Commission to anti-graft agencies,” he stated.

Assistant Chief State Counsel, Hamza Omolara, who responded for the Minister of Justice, September 22, said: “I am further directed to inform you that pursuant to the provision of Section 5 (1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2011, your request has been transferred to the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs who has greater interest in the information for their necessary action.”

According to VANGUARD, the applicant in an affidavit in support of his motion, explained: “The first respondent received my said application and responded to the request through a letter dated September 22 and received by me on September 24 that my said exhibit CMA 1 has been transferred to the second respondent for further action.

“The letter dated September 22 is hereto marked as exhibit CMA 2.

“From September 22 till date, the first and second respondents have refused to disclose the record demanded in exhibit CMA 1,” he said.

Up Next

In Somalia, A Rare 21-year-old Female Artist Promotes Images Of Peace

Don't Miss

OML 11: Controversies Trail Ogoni Leaders’ Visit To Buhari

Comments

Headline

42 Killed In Israeli Attacks, Says Gaza’s Civil Defense

Published

3 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Gaza’s civil defence agency reported at least 42 people killed in Israeli attacks on Sunday, as the Israeli army prepared for a new assault on the Palestinian territory’s largest city.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said there had been several air strikes around Gaza City — which the military is gearing up to capture — including one in the Al-Sabra neighbourhood that killed eight people.

Attacks were also reported elsewhere across the territory, he said, with the “total tally currently rising to 42 dead”.

The army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the figure.

“The situation is extremely dangerous… Each day, each minute, there are bombings, martyrs, death and blood — we can’t take it anymore,” Al-Sabra resident Ibrahim Al-Shurafa told AFP, explaining strikes and shelling were ongoing.

“We don’t know where to go. Death follows us everywhere,” he added.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

The October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel’s offensive has killed at least 62,686 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.

AFP

Headline

Venezuela Frees Eight Opposition Leaders

Published

4 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Venezuelan authorities released eight opposition leaders from jail early Sunday, including a former congressman and two Italian citizens, and granted house arrest to five others, an opposition politician said.

Most of those released had been charged with corruption in opposition-run mayoral offices.

Also set free was Congressman, Amirico de Grazia, detained amid protests that erupted during President Nicolas Maduro’s reelection in 2024.

“Today, several families are once again embracing their loved ones. We know there are many left, and we have not forgotten them; we continue to fight for everyone,” two-time former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said on X.

Opposition leaders Victor Jurado, Simon Vargas, Arelis Ojeda Escalante, Mayra Castro, Diana Berrio, Gorka Carnevalli, as well as Italian nationals Margarita Assenzo and de Grazia were released, Capriles said.

Nabil Maalouf, Valentin Gutierrez Pineda, Rafael Ramirez, Pedro Guanipa, and David Barroso were placed under house arrest.

The Italian government confirmed the release of de Grazia and Assenzo, who must appear in court to clarify the conditions of their release. It also vowed to continue working on securing the release of other detained Italians.

“We have always said, and we maintain it: we will talk to whomever we need to talk to so that there is not a single political prisoner in our Venezuela!” Capriles added.

AFP

Headline

Russia, Ukraine Exchange Prisoners Of War, Civilians

Published

4 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Russia and Ukraine each sent back more prisoners of war on Sunday in the latest in a series of exchanges that have seen hundreds of POWs released this year, the two sides said.

Large-scale prisoner exchanges were the only tangible result of three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul between May and July.

They remain one of the few areas of cooperation between the two countries since Russia’s offensive began in 2022.

“On August 24, 146 Russian servicemen were returned from the territory controlled” by Kyiv, the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram.

“In exchange, 146 prisoners of war of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were transferred” to Ukraine, it added. Ukraine did not confirm any figures for the release.

Russia also said that “eight citizens of the Russian Federation—residents of the Kursk region, illegally detained” by Kyiv were also returned.

Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in August last year, seizing hundreds of square kilometres (miles) of territory in a major setback for the Kremlin.

Russia deployed thousands of troops from its ally North Korea as part of a counterattack but did not fully reclaim the region until April.

Among the Ukrainians released on Sunday was journalist Dmytro Khyliuk, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Khyliuk was kidnapped in the Kyiv region in March 2022. He is finally home in Ukraine,” Zelensky said on social media.

Also freed was former Kherson mayor Volodymyr Mykolayenko, “who spent more than three years in captivity,” Zelensky’s aide Andriy Yermak wrote on X.

“In 2022, he was on the list for return, but Volodymyr voluntarily refused to be exchanged in favour of a seriously ill prisoner with whom he was sharing a cell in a Russian prison,” Yermak said.

AFP