Headline
Supreme Court Lambasts Critics Of Recent Judgements

The Supreme Court on Saturday came hard on some Nigerians who had been “venting convoluted anger”, following its recent pronouncements, which affirmed a former Governor of the Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, and Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, senatorial candidates of the All Progressives Congress in the February 25 elections.
The Apex Court warned purveyors of such attacks on the judiciary and Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, especially the United States-based Professor, Farooq Kperogi and Progressive Minds Forum, to desist and channel such energies to political parties which “fail to organise themselves well.”
The Director of Press And Information in Supreme Court, Dr Festus Akande, issued the warning in a statement titled, “Be mindful of unwarranted attacks on judicial officers.”
According to him, as of the moment, over 600 cases have so far gone to court from just party primaries which were conducted by political parties without any encumbrance or interference from any external bodies.
READ ALSO: New Naira: Nigerians Divided Over Supreme Court Ruling
The statement reads, “We have watched with utter dismay some unfortunate events that have been unfolding in the country, particularly within the political landscape, for some days now.
“It is so disheartening to learn that some individuals and groups of persons who ought to know better and even assume the revered positions of role models to a larger proportion of the citizens are now sadly, the very ones flagrantly displaying ignorance and infantilism in the course of defending the indefensible.
“In an ineptly scripted toxic article, one Farooq Adamu Kperogi, who described himself as a Nigerian-American Professor, decided to plunge into an abysmal pit of irredeemable ignorance by venting convoluted anger on Supreme Court Justices with a view to pleasing his paymasters.
“We have made it abundantly clear on different occasions that Judicial Officers are neither political office holders nor politicians that should be dressed in such robes.
“Our silence must not be mistaken for weakness or cowardice.
“Certainly, every Nigerian citizen has an inalienable right to express his or her opinion without any encumbrance; but even in the course of expressing such fundamental right, we should be circumspect enough to observe the caution gate of self-control in order not to infringe on another person’s right.
“Even in a state of emotional disequilibrium, we should be reasonable enough to make a good choice of decent words, as every word employed by the pen-happy Kperogi only succeeded in portraying the kind of vacuum that sign-posts all that he has as academic accomplishment.
“I believe those who possess similar credentials with him are obviously ashamed of celebrating any form of affinity with such a character that has an odious reputation for being a serial verbal assailant over the years, as he sees nothing good in anything good.
“He has only succeeded in inflicting upon himself a mood of bellicose jingoism which does not represent a mark of honour for any discerning mind or academic, the world over.
“Courts don’t advertise or scout for cases for adjudication; but at the same time, we are duty-bound to adjudicate on all matters that come before us with a view to giving justice to whoever justice is due, irrespective of status.
READ ALSO: Supreme Court Restores Ahmad Lawan APC Senatorial Candidate
“No court in any clime is a Father Christmas; so, no one can get what he or she didn’t ask for.
“Similarly, all matters are thoroughly analysed and considered based on their merits and not the faces that appear in court or sentiments that attempt to becloud the sense of reasoning.
“So, for anyone in his or her right frame of mind to insinuate that the Justices have been bought over by some unknown and unseen persons is, to say the least, a bizarre expression of ignorance, which definitely has no place in law or even in the realm of pedestrian reasoning.
“We are not surprised with the surge of these well-orchestrated verbal assaults on Judicial Officers across the country at this period of elections.
“It is a thing we are used to and are ever ready to absorb whatever comes our way, but there should be some level of decorum and dignity in what we say and do. Politics should not be played without recourse to good conscience and acceptable moral conduct, as everything is evolving globally.
“Calling on the Chief Justice of Nigeria to resign or attacking Justices that sit on various panels, as exhibited by a faceless group that calls itself ‘Progressive Minds Forum,’ is rather prosaic.
“If political parties fail to organise themselves well by managing their internal wrangling maturely and now chose to bring themselves to the court, we are duty-bound to adjudicate in accordance with the provisions of the law and not the dictates of any individual or deity, as some people would want us to do.
“If political parties conduct themselves well and orderly too, the courts would definitely handle fewer cases and the political atmosphere will be much healthier than it is currently.
“We shall continuously do our best to discharge our constitutional responsibility to keep the country together and move the nation along the path of peace, progress and development.
“Attacks by groups, political parties or individuals under any guise will not deter us, rather it will boost our resolve to do more for the country.
“It is not only petty but equally very unreasonable for anyone to hurriedly link CJN Ariwoola to his state of origin and tribe simply because of a particular judgment of the court.
“The major problem of Nigeria has always been the undue emphasis on religion and ethnicity in all our dealings. As long as we continue along that path, progress will remain a mirage.
“As of this moment, over 600 cases have so far gone to court from just party primaries which were conducted by political parties without any encumbrance or interference from any external bodies.
“So, will the political parties, Kperogi or any individual now accuse the court of causing such unpleasant intra-party wrangling that defied all internal conflict resolution mechanisms?
“Most times, some people try as much as possible to disingenuously stand logic on its head to show their level of unimaginable dexterity.
READ ALSO: New Naira: Things To Know About Supreme Court Judgement
“Those who have cultivated the unfashionable penchant of always attacking the Judiciary over every judgment or ruling given should better have a rethink and start channelling such robust energy into some ventures that are more developmental than destructive.
“We are not politicians and should not, by any stroke of imagination, be cast in that mould either.
“Nobody’s interest can ever supersede the interest of everybody. Nigeria is bigger than every one of us. A word is enough for the wise.”
PUNCH
Headline
12 Feared Dead In Kenya Light Aircraft Crash

A small plane travelling from Kenya’s coast crashed on Tuesday, according to the country’s aviation authority, with the 12 people on board feared dead.
The small plane was en route to Kichwa Tembo — a private airstrip located in the Maasai Mara National Park — from the tourist hotspot of Diani when it came down at around 5:30am local time (0230 GMT).
“The aircraft had 12 persons on board,” a statement from the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) said.
It gave no further details, but said that government agencies were already on site to establish the cause of the accident.
READ ALSO:Putin Admits Russia Caused Azerbaijani Plane Crash
The Guardian reports that plane crashes are fairly common in Kenya in the last 18 months. On March 5, 2024, a mid-air collision between a Safarilink Aviation commercial flight and a 99 Flying School training aircraft occurred over the Nairobi National Park, resulting in two fatalities.
The incident took place shortly after both aircraft had departed Wilson Airport. The collision involved Safarilink Aviation Flight 053, a De Havilland Canada Dash 8 carrying 39 passengers and five crew members, and a 99 Flying School Cessna 172M.
AMREF Aircraft Crash
In August, a light aircraft belonging to the AMREF Flying Doctors crashed into a residential area in Mwihoko, Ruiru, Kiambu County, killing six people and injuring at least two others.
The aircraft, a Cessna Citation XLS (registration 5Y-FDM), had taken off from Wilson Airport and was en route to Hargeisa, Somalia, when it went down under unclear circumstances.
READ ALSO:Fire On Board Forces Lagos-Atlanta-bound Aircraft Diversion To Ghana
AMREF Flying Doctors CEO Stephen Gitau issued a statement confirming the incident. Mr Gitau noted that the aircraft departed Wilson Airport at 2.17 PM before crashing in Mwihoko. He stated that the organisation is “cooperating fully with relevant aviation authorities and emergency response teams to establish the facts surrounding the situation.”
Foreign Couple Killed in Kenyan Plane Crash, Earlier in January, a light aircraft crash killed a foreign couple aboard. The accident involved a Cessna 185 aircraft that departed from Nairobi and was en route to Mbaruk in Nakuru County. It went down in the lakeside town of Naivasha at approximately 5:14 p.m. local time (1414 GMT).
At the time, Naivasha Police Deputy Chief Charles Mwai suggested that poor visibility due to fog in the area might have been a contributing factor. Aviation experts have been called to the scene to conduct an investigation.
Headline
UK Police Arrest Asylum Seeker Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed

The UK police on Sunday arrested an Ethiopian asylum seeker and convicted sex offender, whose crimes had sparked anti-immigration protests, after he was accidentally released from prison in an embarrassing blunder by British authorities.
London’s Metropolitan Police said officers arrested Hadush Kebatu in the north of the capital on Sunday morning, nearly 48 hours after he was mistakenly freed around 30 miles (48 kilometres) away.
Kebatu, 38, had served the first month of a one-year sentence for sexually assaulting a teenage girl and a woman, but was reportedly due to be deported when the Prison Service error occurred on Friday.
His high-profile case earlier this year in Epping, northeast of London, sparked demonstrations in various English towns and cities where asylum seekers were believed to be housed, as well as counter-protests.
READ ALSO:UK Police Hunt Asylum Seeker Mistakenly Freed For Sex Offence
Commander James Conway, who oversaw the manhunt for him, said “information from the public” led officers to the Finsbury Park neighbourhood of London, where he was found.
“He was detained by police but will be returned to the custody of the Prison Service,” he added.
Kebatu is now expected to be deported.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Friday he was “appalled” by the “totally unacceptable” mistake that saw him freed rather than sent to an immigration detention centre.
The Telegraph newspaper said he was wrongly categorised for release on licence and handed a £76 ($101) discharge grant.
READ ALSO:Alleged Misappropriation: MFM Accuses UK Agency Of Discrimination
Police had appealed Saturday for Kebatu to turn himself in, after reports emerged that he had appeared confused and reluctant to leave the prison in Chelmsford, eastern England.
A delivery driver described seeing Kebatu return several times in a “very confused” state, only to be turned away by staff and directed to the railway station.
The driver told Sky News he saw Kebatu outside the jail, asking, “Where am I going? What am I doing?”
“He was starting to get upset, he was getting stressed,” the driver said.
READ ALSO:UK Is A Home, Not Hotel, Kemi Badenoch Tells Immigrants, Starmer’s Govt
The father of Kebatu’s anonymous teenage victim told the broadcaster that “the justice system has let us down.”
Police arrested the asylum seeker in July after he repeatedly tried to kiss a 14-year-old girl and touch her legs, and made sexually explicit comments to her.
He also sexually assaulted an adult woman, placing a hand on her thigh, when she intervened to stop his interactions with the girl.
He was staying at the time at Epping’s Bell Hotel, where scores of other asylum seekers have been accommodated, and which became the target of repeated protests.
AFP
Headline
Madagascar Revokes Ousted President’s Nationality

Madagascar’s new government has stripped ousted president Andry Rajoelina of his Malagasy nationality in a decree published Friday, 10 days after he was removed in a military takeover.
According to AFP, the decree means that Rajoelina, who was impeached on October 14 after fleeing the island nation in the wake of weeks of protests, would not be able to contest future election.
The decree published in the official gazette said Rajoelina’s Malagasy nationality was revoked because he had acquired French nationality in 2014, local media reported, as photographs of the document were shared online.
READ ALSO:Madagascar’s President Denounces ‘Coup Attempt’ As Gen Z Protests Escalate
French broadcaster RFI said it had confirmed the decree with the entourage of the new prime minister, Herintsalama Rajaonarivelo, who signed the order.
The decree cited laws stipulating that a Malagasy who voluntarily acquires a foreign nationality loses their Malagasy nationality.
Rajoelina’s French nationality caused a scandal when it was revealed ahead of the November 2023 elections, nearly 10 years after it was granted.
READ ALSO:Madagascar Passes Bill To Castrate Child R*pists
It triggered calls for him to be disqualified but he went on to win the contested polls, which were boycotted by opposition parties.
The 51-year-old politician fled Madagascar after army Colonel Michael Randrianirina said on October 11 his CAPSAT unit would refuse orders to put down the youth-led protest movement, which security forces had attempted to suppress with violence.
Rajoelina said later he was in hiding for his safety, but did not say where.
Randrianirina was sworn in as president on October 14, pledging elections within two years.
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