Headline

Tribunal: Meet The Five Justices To Determine Atiku, Obi’s Petitions Against Tinubu

Published

8 months ago

September 4, 2023

The Presidential Election Petition Court in May, commenced hearing the election petitions filed by five candidates in the last presidential poll that saw the emergence of Bola Tinubu as winner.

The candidates are challenging Tinubu’s emergence, and the five-man panel is expected to hear the petitions and dispense justice accordingly.

PUNCH reports that the Registrar, Court of Appeal, Umar Bangari, had confirmed to our correspondent that September 6 had been fixed for the judgment.

This report examines the profiles of the five justices who are members of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal

Justice Tsammani:

Haruna Tsammani, 64 was appointed a Justice of the appeal court in 2010. He was called to the Bar after attending the Nigerian Law School, Lagos in 1983. He was appointed a high court judge in Bauchi State on September 17, 1998.

Tsammani is not new to electoral tribunal sittings. In December 2015, he was part of the five-man panel of the Appeal Court that dismissed an appeal instituted by a former governor of Oyo State, Rashidi Ladoja, against the election of the late governor, Abiola Ajimobi.

Similarly, in 2019, Tsammani wrote the lead judgment for an election petition submitted by Ajimobi, who contested the decision of the 2019 Election Petition Tribunal, which on November 19, of that same year, confirmed Kola Balogun of the Peoples Democratic Party as the winner of the senatorial election for Oyo State.

Ajimobi’s petition was rejected by Tsammani, who, in the lead judgment noted that the petition lacked merit.

He served as the chairman of the three-man panel that granted Obi and Atiku’s applications to serve Tinubu their petitions by substituted means.

He also presided over the Value Added Tax case between the Rivers State Government and the Federal Government. He is ranked 12th on the senior hierarchy list of the Court of Appeal.

Justice Stephen Jonah Adah:

The 66-year-old Justice is from the Asaba Division of the Court of Appeal. He graduated from the Nigerian Law School in 1982 and hails from Kogi State.

Adah was appointed as a judge of the Federal High Court on November 12, 1998, and was part of the justices promoted to the Appeal Court in November 2012.

One of his landmark judgments was delivered in an appeal filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in 2020 against a trial court’s decision, which partially upheld the no-case submission filed by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s cousin, Robert Azibaola.

Adah led the panel that affirmed Ifeanyi Ubah as a senator in Enugu State after he was sacked over alleged certificate forgery.

He also led the panel that affirmed Valentine Ozigbo as the PDP governorship candidate for the Anambra governorship election in 2022.

He is ranked 22nd on the senior list of the Court of Appeal.

Justice Bolaji-Yusuf:

She is the only female justice in the tribunal was born on August 7, 1959.

She hails from Oyo State, where she started her education at Oranyan Grammar School between 1972 and 1973, before proceeding to the Breman Asikuma Secondary School, Central Region, Ghana, between 1973 and 1976.

Bolaji-Yusuf attended the Obafemi Awolowo University between 1979 and 1983 and later, the Nigerian Law School from 1983 to 1984.

She was appointed as a justice in the Oyo State High Court on January 30, 1997, where she delivered major judgments.

She was appointed to the Court of Appeal on March 24, 2014.

One of her lead judgments was delivered during the hearing of an N5.6bn pension scam in Oyo State.

The case involved the EFCC and 12 other persons in the Oyo State civil service.

She was on the panel that affirmed that the candidates of the Godwin Obaseki-led faction, were the authentic ones to participate in the Edo State 2023 elections.

She ranks 31st on the senior hierarchy list of the Court of Appeal.

Justice Boloukuoromo Moses Ugo:

The Bayelsa-State-born justice is from Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of the state. Born in 1965, Ugo began his education at the State school, Igbedi in Bayelsa State from 1972 to 1978.

He proceeded to the Government Secondary School, Asoama, Sabagreia in Bayelsa State from 1977 to 1982. He attended the University of Calabar, where he studied law from 1985 to 1989, and later attended the Nigerian Law School, Lagos in 1990.

Justice Ugo was appointed as a Justice of the High Court of Bayelsa State in March 2006. He became an appellate court justice in March 2014 and ranks 44th on the seniority list of the Court of Appeal.

Justice Mohammed Abba Bello:

The 62-year-old jurist from Kano State attended the Nigerian Law School in 1985.

In 2010, he was appointed to the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory. He presided over the Nasarawa State Governorship Election Tribunal in 2019.

David Ombugadu, the PDP governorship candidate in the general election of 2019, had filed a suit against INEC and Governor Abdullahi Sule of the All Progressive Congress.

However, Justice Mohammed rejected the petition on the grounds that it lacked merit, noting that the petitioner’s claims of excessive voting and electoral violence could not be substantiated.

He is ranked 71st on the seniority list of the Court of Appeal.

SOURCE: PUNCH

Headline

How Australian Doctor Treated Own Brain Cancer With Personal Research Studies

Published

4 hours ago

May 14, 2024

Editor

An Australian medical doctor, Professor Richard Scolyer, said he has remained brain cancer-free for a year after undergoing a world-first treatment based on his own research.

The 57-year-old used his own pioneering studies on melanoma to treat his incurable stage 4 glioblastoma following his diagnosis in June 2023.

Scolyer disclosed this on Monday, via his X page, with an update about the experimental treatment alongside two images from a recent MRI scan.

“I had brain #MRI scan last Thursday looking for recurrent #glioblastoma (&/or treatment complications). I found out yesterday that there is still no sign of recurrence. I couldn’t be happier!!!!!,” wrote Scolyer.

“Thank you to the fabulous team looking after me so well especially my wife Katie & wonderful family!” he added.

Scolyer’s diagnosis was revealed in June 2023 after he was taken ill while traveling for work in Poland. He then became the first brain cancer patient to undergo pre-surgery combination immunotherapy.

Speaking about the feat in an interview with BBC, Scolyer said, “To be honest, I was more nervous than I have been for any previous scan. I’m just thrilled and delighted… couldn’t be happier.”

Professor Scolyer is one of the country’s most respected medical minds, and was this year named Australian of the Year alongside his colleague and friend, Professor Georgina Long, in recognition of their life-changing work on melanoma.

As co-directors of the Melanoma Institute Australia, over the past decade the pair’s research on immunotherapy, which uses the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells, has dramatically improved outcomes for advanced melanoma patients globally.

He is also the first to be administered a vaccine personalised to his tumour’s characteristics, which boosts the cancer-detecting powers of the drugs.

After a tough couple of months of treatment at the start of the year – spent dealing with epileptic seizures, liver issues and pneumonia – Prof Scolyer said he is feeling healthier.

“I’m the best I have felt for yonks,” he said, adding that he’s back to exercising every day – which for him often means a casual 15km (9.3 mile) jog.

“It certainly doesn’t mean that my brain cancer is cured… but it’s just nice to know that it hasn’t come back yet, so I’ve still got some more time to enjoy my life with my wife Katie and my three wonderful kids.”

The results so far have generated huge excitement that the duo may be on the cusp of a discovery which could one day help the roughly 300,000 people diagnosed with brain cancer globally each year.

Prof Scolyer and Prof Long have previously said the odds of a cure are “minuscule”, but they hope the experimental treatment will prolong Prof Scolyer’s life and will soon translate into clinical trials for glioblastoma patients.

They currently have a scientific paper under review, which details results from the first weeks of Prof Scolyer’s treatment, but Prof Long stresses that they are still a long way off developing an approved and regulated course of treatment.

“We’ve generated a whole heap of data, to then make a foundation for that next step, so that we can help more people,” she said.

“We’re not there yet. What we have to really focus on is showing that this pre-surgery, combination immunotherapy type of approach works in a large number of people.”

Headline

32-year-old Nigerian Doctor Killed In US, Father Mourns

Published

12 hours ago

May 14, 2024

Editor

A 32-year-old Nigerian doctor, Uzochukwu Davis Igboanugo, has been killed by a drunk driver in the United States of America.

Uzochukwu, the son of prominent Igbo businessman, Chief I.K.B. Igboanugo, the founder of I.K.B Industries Limited, was killed while driving home after work three weeks ago.

The grieving father who confirmed the tragic incident in a Facebook post on Monday, May 13, 2024, said the drunk driver fell asleep at the wheel while speeding on the highway and rammed into his son’s car.

He described his son as a very happy, intelligent, friendly, caring, nice and loving boy.

“I lost my son 3 weeks ago, I have been crying like a baby. A medical doctor ( Ophthalmologist) in America,” Chief Igboanugo wrote.

His post reads further: “An accident victim of a drunkard who fell asleep while speeding on the highway, jumped his lane in the opposite direction and hit with speed force on the driver’s side door where my son was as he was driving home after work.

“We can’t question God as He has the final decision.

“Always pray as a parent not to loose any of your child irrespective of his behaviour because loss of a child can kill any parent.

“Uzochukwu my son was a very nice boy, always happy, intelligent, friendly, caring, loving, sociable etc.

“He was 32yrs old, not yet married despite my nagging, he sacrificed all his time and achieved Ophthalmology which is a very difficult medical course in the history of reading medicine to become a medical doctor.

“Since his death I have been going through mental and psychological trauma as my doctor has been warning me.

“My wife also has not been her self. Pls don’t wish your worst enemy this type of tragedy, now I pray for anybody who has not lost his child never to experience it. It is hellish and a disaster.

“Uzochukwu my son you are now in God’s bosom and working for Him that was why he took you this early. As your soul will rest in God’s bosom in Jesus name.”

Headline

Miss USA Teen 2023 Runner-up Declines Title After Winner Stepped Down

Published

12 hours ago

May 14, 2024

Editor

The news comes after a shocking beauty pageant scandal, which saw both Miss USA 2023 and Miss Teen USA 2023 announcing that they were resigning within days of each other amid reports of bullying and harassment.

Miss USA Noelia Voigt, 24, first shared her surprise resignation via Instagram, explaining that she wanted to focus on her “physical and mental well-being.”

It was then followed by 17-year-old Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastava announcing she too was stepping down because her personal values “no longer fully align with the direction of the organization.”

Now, Miss New York Teen USA Stephanie, 19, who was the first runner-up of the Miss Teen USA pageant, has revealed that she was offered the crown but ultimately refused it because she can’t “give up [her] character.”

Stephanie, 19, told People in an interview published May 13: “I worked so hard and sacrificed so much for this goal to become Miss Teen USA and although this title was a dream of mine, I believe one thing I will never give up is my character.”

While the Miss New York Teen USA admitted that it was an “extremely difficult” choice to make, she said she was confident that it was “the right decision.”

Stephanie’s rejection of the title arrives less than a week after UmaSofia, 17, shared that she was leaving behind her Miss Teen USA role in the wake of Miss USA 2023 winner Noelia Voigt’s resignation.

“After careful consideration,” UmaSofia wrote in a May 8 Instagram post, “I’ve decided to resign as I find that my personal values no longer fully align with the direction of the organization.”

Her statement further adds to the speculation about the dark underbelly surrounding the pageant.

“Hi everyone. As many of you know, on August 6, 2023, I was crowned Miss New York Teen USA 2023,” Stephanie wrote on Instagram on Sunday, May 12.

She went on to note that she had put “every ounce of [her] being” into achieving her dream of winning and “sacrificed” many things in her life.

The 19-year-old explained that her life changed when she was awarded Miss Teen USA runner-up and was given the opportunity to take up the crown when UmaSofia stepped down.

She added: “In light of recent events, I have decided to decline the title of Miss Teen USA 2023. This was not an easy decision. I hope for respect of my choice as this was a decision I never asked to make. My word is my everything.”

In her announcement, Stephanie made her opinions on the previous winners extremely clear as she noted that she stood with them.

“In addition, although I don’t know what Uma and Noelia went through to lead them to resign, I am sending them immense love and support. What I do know is that my core values are integrity, honor, kindness, and most importantly, I will always stand for female empowerment,” she said.