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Why Sowore’s Lawyer Was Arrested By Police – Billionaire Ned Nwoko

Published

3 years ago

March 5, 2022

Editor

A former member, House of Representatives, Prince Ned Nwoko, has denied involvement in the arrest of Abubakar Marshal, a lawyer to Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore.

The billionaire, in a statement by his lawyer, Bryan Ukaegbu, noted that Marshal was not also arrested by the police in Abuja for filing a matter against him in court.

Earlier, Sowore had claimed that Marshal’s arrest on Friday in Abuja was facilitated by Nwoko.

But the former lawmaker’s lawyer said Marshall stood as surety for Sowore after he was granted an administrative bail with a promise to produce him on February 25 but failed to do so.

Recall that Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters, was arrested on February 24, following a petition of criminal defamation, injurious falsehood publication of news known to be false, against him.

His arrest followed a petition by Nwoko, through his lawyers, Trifold Law & Partners, against Sahara Reporters Foundation.

The statement read, “To start from the beginning, Mr Omoyele Sowore was invited by the office of the Inspector General of Police to answer to a Petition written by the Solicitors to Hon. Prince Ned Nwoko, the law firm of TRIFOLD LAW AND PARTNERS.

“The petition bordered on criminal acts of defamation of character, injurious falsehood, criminal intimidation, cyberstalking, etc. against Hon Prince Dr. Ned Munir Nwoko and targeted at rubbing his name in the mud, tarnishing his reputation contrary to extant provisions of the Penal Code and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

“As mentioned above and customarily, Mr Sowore was invited by the Nigerian Police Force to give a statement on the claims made in the petition but he refused to honour the invitation. This led to his arrest wherein he still refused to give any statement.

“Apart from his refusal to give a statement regarding the claims against him, under the law, he was to remain in custody until he is either charged to Court or he fulfils the Police Bail conditions.

“Consequently, his lawyer, one Marshal Abubakar chose to stand as surety for bail for Mr Sowore and he, the lawyer assured the Police to produce Mr Sowore on the next date slated for continuation of the investigation. Now on the said date, neither Mr Sowore nor his lawyer, Abubakar were in attendance at the Police Station. They had been at large since then and it became clear that the lawyer was interfering with the investigations of the Police.

“Consequently, it then became very necessary to arrest the lawyer in order to get him to produce his client.”

It continues: “With these in full perspective, I put across these posers to-wit: Was the lawyer to Mr Omoyele Sowore right when he stood as a surety on bail for his client? Was the lawyer justified to help his Client escape the Police investigation to become a fugitive or absconder from a lawful arrest?

“The Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners is against Lawyers aiding their clients to disobey the law or duly constituted authorities e.g the Nigeria Police Force (See Rule 3 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Lawyers that is instructive to the following fact and I quote:

“In his representation of his client, a lawyer shall not —– (a) give service or advice to the client which he knows or ought reasonably to know is capable of causing disloyalty to, or breach of, the law, or bringing disrespect to the holder of a judicial office, or involving corruption of holders of any public.”

Headline

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

Published

6 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

6 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

6 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