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The management and students of the Federal Polytechnic, Offa in Kwara State are in shock over the reported case of suicide by a student of the institution.

Our correspondent gathered that a National Diploma 1 student of the Civil Engineering Department, Ridwan Ajiboye, reportedly drank some quantity of insecticide and eventually died.

Ajiboye, who was the son of a traditional title holder in Iragbiji in the Boripe Local Government Area of Osun State, decided to end his life after he was allegedly embarrassed by one of his lecturers, who gave him some handouts to sell to his course mates.

The Public Relations Officer, Students Union Government of the polytechnic, Olayinka Owolabi, when contacted by our correspondent on the telephone on Saturday, confirmed the incident but said nobody knew why the deceased killed himself.

He said, “Some of his neighbours heard his cry and rushed to his room where they met him gasping for air. He was taken to hospital but he eventually died.

“They said he took poisonous substance but we do not know what he took and nobody can say why he took the substance.”

He said the remains of the student had since been buried at his hometown, stating that his parents said they were not interested in investigating the circumstances that surrounded his death.

Some days after Ajiboye’s death, another ND student of the Estate Management Department, Maryam Fasasi, reportedly attempted suicide.

Fasasi was also said to have drunk a popular insecticide, sniper, but she was rescued and revived at a hospital.

She was said to have been taken to hospital where she was treated and was discharged on Saturday.

A student of the school told our correspondent that Maryam misplaced N45,000 which was the proceeds from handouts given to her to sell by one of her lecturers and she attempted to kill herself because of this.

The Public Relations Officer of the polytechnic, Mr Olayinka Iroye, said he was aware of Ajiboye’s case, saying the management of the polytechnic took him to some hospitals “but he eventually died.”

He said nobody knew why he decided to take his life while stating that the deceased was a brilliant student as shown by his academic records.

He, however, said the management was not aware of the case of attempted suicide.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has set up an investigative team to probe four governors for corruption once they officially hand over.

The governors are Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State, Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State and Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara
State.

Yari was alleged to have diverted N500million and $500,000  from the state coffers in 2017.

The money, part of Paris Club refunds disbursed to states, was recovered from two firms, First Generation Mortgage Bank Limited, and Gosh Projects Limited, linked to Yari.

Also, Amosun would be investigated following a petition written by the Committee for the Protection of Peoples Mandate, accusing Amosun of misappropriation of N4billion Anchor Borrowers’ Fund given to the state by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The group claimed that Amosun deceived Godwin Emefiele, the CBN Governor, when he came to the state for inspection while also insisting that Amosun has abandoned the project and diverted the funds for personal use.

On his part, Okorocha was accused of moving over N1billion from the state government to aid the campaign activities of Uche Nwosu, his son-in-law.

The commission had arrested Uzoho Casmir, Accountant-General of Imo State, for assisting Okorocha to move the said funds.

Ahmed, outgoing Governor of Kwara State, was said to have successfully diverted the sum of N1billion from the state coffers, a few days before presidential election.

The EFCC had earlier arrested six commissioners and government officials who might be involved in the criminal act.

The commission stated that bank officials have been invited for questioning and have also made documents available to the commission.

The EFCC confirmed that investigations are ongoing and any political office holder found culpable of corruption would be prosecuted.

The whereabouts of a former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ayodele Oke, and his wife, Folasade, remain unknown one week after they were declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

According to the anti-corruption body, they are wanted for failing to appear in court to answer to the N13bn money laundering charges against them.

The couple reportedly travelled out of the country for medical treatment in  January before they were to be arraigned.

Justice Chukwujeku Aneke of  the  Federal High Court Lagos on February 7, 2019 issued an arrest warrant against the couple following an oral application by EFCC counsel Rotimi Oyedepo.

Sequel to the court order, the commission  on March 24 declared  the ex-spy chief and  his wife  wanted in a statement by its  acting EFCC spokesman, Tony Orilade.

Oke and his wife are wanted in connection with the $43m, £27,800 and N23.8m cash recovered by the  EFCC  from an apartment in  Ikoyi, Lagos, in April 2017.

Orilade said the anti-graft agency had asked Interpol to arrest the couple wherever they might  be hiding.

He added   that the commission expected all Interpol member-countries to execute the arrest warrant issued against them.

He said, “We have done what we needed to do. We have notified Interpol and we expect them to issue a red notice against the couple and arrest them wherever they may be found. We don’t know where they are at  present.”

Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Frank Mba, also could not provide an update on the status of the EFCC request to Interpol, stating that he was out of town.

A check on Interpol website, however, did not turn up any information on Oke and his wife, an indication that they had not been listed on the wanted persons’ section of the site.

Only the profiles of a handful of Nigerians were listed out of the 6,855 wanted persons.

They include Odife Ikemefuna, 55, wanted for importing banned drugs and psychotropic substances from India and Iyinoluwa Victor, 55, wanted for drug trafficking.

Under Oke, the NIA allegedly collected $289,202,382 in cash for special operations from the account of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services at the Central Bank of Nigeria in February 2015.

The agency had claimed that the funds were meant for covert intelligence operations, but the Federal Government insisted it was a case of looting.

The FG subsequently set up a three-man panel headed by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.  The panel indicted Oke and recommended his dismissal from service.

Criminal charges were subsequently filed against him and his wife in February this year over the cash found at the Ikoyi apartment.

Innoson Motors Nigeria Limited said it had sealed  seven branches of Guaranty Trust Bank, GTB to recover its N8.8 billion judgement debt.

This is even as the bank insisted that the court order on which Innoson claimed ro be acting did not authorise it to take over the bank but, rather, the account of the Nigerian Customs and Excise Board domiciled with the bank.

The spokesperson for Innoson Motors, Cornell Osigwe, who spoke in Nnewi, Anambra State, on Saturday, said the company had sealed seven GTB bank branches: one in Nnewi, two in Onitsha, two in Awka and two in neighbouring Enugu State. He said that the company would move to seal the GTB Head Office in Lagos next week.

According to him, Innoson will seal more of GTB bank branches nationwide to recover the N8.8 billion owed the motor company.

“We will seal more of their properties to recover our money and from next week, we shall move to GTB head office to enforce the judgement of courts. We will sell those properties to get our money back,” he said.

Innoson had said in a statement on Friday that it has obtained a court order to take control of GTBank over indebtedness of N8.8 billion.

However, GTB bank has refuted the claim, saying that the judgment was against the account of the Nigerian Customs and Excise Board domiciled with GTBank, and not against GTBank as an entity.

Cornel Osigwe had in a statement said the company has obtained a writ of Fi Fa from the Federal High Court sitting in Awka, Anambra State, against Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) to take over the bank’s properties.

According to Osigwe, Innoson Chairman, Innocent Chukwuma, has been mandated by federal high court sitting in Awka, Anambra state to “take over” the bank after the Supreme Court dismissed GTB’s appeal against the judgement of the appeal court in Ibadan.

The statement reads in part: “The Chairman of Innoson Group, Chief Dr. Innocent Chukwuma, OFR hast through a Writ of Fi Fa taken over Guaranty Trust Bank PLC for and on behalf of Innoson Nigeria Ltd as a result of the bank’s indebtedness to Innoson Nigeria Ltd.”

The statement further added: “In a landmark decision on February 27th 2019, the Supreme Court of Nigeria had dismissed GTB’s appeal in a suit number SC.694/2014 — against the judgment of court of Appeal, Ibadan Division.

“The Court of Appeal, Ibadan division had in its decision of 6th February 2014 dismissed GTB’s appeal against the Federal High Court, Ibadan Division.

“Thus, the Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment of the Federal High Court, Ibadan Division which ordered GTB by way of Garnishee order absolute to pay N2.4 billion to Innoson with a 22 percent interest per annum, on the judgments until the final liquidation of the debt.

Rather than obey the judgment of the Court of Appeal, GTB approached the Supreme Court to challenge the Court of Appeal’s decision.”

The company also said that in a ruling delivered by Supreme Court, Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour dismissed GTB’s appeal and affirmed the concurrent judgment of both the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court, Ibadan Division.

According to the ruling, court had, ordered GTB by to pay N2.4 billion to Innoson with a 22 percent interest, per annum, on the judgment until the final liquidation of the judgment.

“The Judgment debt of N2.4bn has accrued an interest of about N6,717,909,849.96 today, which results to about N8.8 billion,”

“Based on the Supreme Court’s decision of 27th February 2019 the counsel to Innoson, Prof McCarthy Mbadugha ESQ, approached the Federal High Court Awka Division for leave to enforce the judgment having obtained certificates of Judgment from the Ibadan Division of the Federal High court,” it said.

In response to the judgement, Erhi Obebeduo, company secretary of the bank, said: “The attention of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (“the Bank”} has been drawn to statements circulating in the news and social media in respect of a purported enforcement of a Judgment of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, Oyo State. at one of its branches in Anambra State.

“The Bank as a law-abiding corporate citizen is taking all necessary legal steps to address this situation and ensure that no illegal or fraudulent execution is carried out.

“It is important to state that the Judgment allegedly in issue is in respect of Garnishee Proceedings against the account of the Nigerian Customs Service Board domiciled with the Bank and not against the Bank as an entity.

“The Bank remains committed to providing best-in-class customer experience to all its valued Customers.”

What is a Writ of FiFa?

A Writ of Fieri Facias is a legal instrument issued after a judgement and it is used to seize the assets of a judgment debtor till the debt in question is settled.

Usually, only the debtor’s property that can satisfy the judgment is held.

In the case of Guaranty Trust Bank, which has assets in trillions, only aportion of assets identified by the court would be held.

Keystone Bank Limited, has announced the resignation of Obeahon Ohiwerei from office as Managing Director/CEO of the Bank.

The Bank immediately announced the appointment of Abubakar Danlami Sule as Acting Managing Director/CEO.
Sule’s appointment is subject to approval by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

A statement on Saturday by the General Counsel and Company Secretary of the bank, Dr. Michael Agamah, said Ohiwerei is leaving to pursue other personal interests.

The statement further added that the Board recognized and appreciated Ohiwerei’s immense contributions to the growth of Keystone Bank and the visibility the Bank had attained as a brand in the past 18 months.
Sule is a graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria with degree in Accounting.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria; an Honourary Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria; a Governing Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria; and an Alumni of both the INSEAD (France) and Wharton Business School in Pennsylvania, USA.

He was until his appointment as Acting MD/CEO the Deputy Managing Director of Keystone Bank Limited.

He has over 29 years of cutting-edge banking experience with competences in Corporate Banking, Operations, Treasury Management, Credit Structuring, Corporate Planning, as well as possession of very strong relationship management skills.

Sule had also served briefly as the Managing Director of Sterling Capital Limited, the Investment Banking Subsidiary of Sterling Bank Plc in 2009.
While at Sterling Capital Limited, he was appointed by the Central Bank of Nigeria as part of the Executive Management team to turnaround the fortunes of erstwhile Intercontinental Bank Plc
He eventually returned to Sterling Bank Plc as Executive Director in charge of the North and Corporate Banking
He also worked briefly in Standard Chartered Bank Limited before he joined Keystone Bank
Keystone Bank is a technology and service-driven commercial bank offering convenient and reliable solutions to its customers.

Facebook’s Policy Programmes Head in Africa, Sherry Dzinoreva, says the company will intensify its female entrepreneurship training in 10 universities in Nigeria in 2019.

Speaking during the ”SheMeansBusiness” dinner in Lagos, Dzinoreva said that Facebook was collaborating with ”She Leads Africa” to intensify female entrepreneurship training in Nigeria.

She said that training would be intensified through its ”SheMeansBusiness” programme that was launched in Nigeria in 2018.

According to her, the company trained over 4,000 female entrepreneurs in the country in 2018, through the SheMeansBusiness programme.

“We are going to continue to train thousands of women as well this year. Not very different from what we did last year, the only difference this year is that we are going into university as well.

“So we are going to be crossing 10 different universities across the country, as well as continuing to train female entrepreneurs.

“The ideas of the programme is for women to come together to learn how to use digital platforms to grow their businesses, but in doing so, we also have a number of other types of engagements.

“And as they do this, there are opportunities to network and learn how to actually grow their businesses.

“This year, we are bringing financial literacy into the programme as well. it is opportunity to empower and support female business owners and aspiring female business owners,” she said.

Dzinoreva said that there was no specific criteria to engage on the programme, but just the entrepreneurial spirit of women who were either aspiring or existing entrepreneurs.

She said that Facebook felt that there was definitely a need to do something a bit different for the women.

“There is something about creating spaces for women because we know that when women are doing well, their communities are doing well.

“When women are doing well; their families are doing well, businesses, industries are doing well and ultimately, the economy is driving as well.

“So we wanted to create a programme that was exclusively for women who were either one of you or are women who are thinking about opening a business and just need a little bit of inspiration,” Dzinoreva said.

The Director, Public Policy Africa at Facebook, Ebele Okobi, said that there was the need for women to be in charge of their destinies, as it would affect the nation.

Okobi said that Facebook was interested in ensuring that women used its platforms – Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp – to create economic independence.

The Co-Founder, She Leads Africa, Afua Osei, said that this was the company’s third year of working with Facebook on a programme to teach, train and support women entrepreneurs.

“And last year, we had the opportunity to work on a programme that was just focused on women, understanding the unique challenges, as well as opportunities for women entrepreneurs.

“We changed more than 4,000 women all across Nigeria. So we are so excited that our training continued to have a serious impact in helping women all across Nigeria.

“This year we are going to drive around in Nigeria, and we are going to get 10 universities all across the country.

“We know that young people are entrepreneurial, they are excited, but they don’t really have that much money. So we are going to teach them how to start getting into businesses with a little cash,

“We are going to bring the training and the expertise to them, so that they can have that experience on their campuses,” Osei said.

MPs in Britain on Friday rejected Prime Minister Theresa May’s EU divorce deal for a third time, opening the way for a long delay to Brexit — or a chaotic “no deal” withdrawal in two weeks.

The pound sank as lawmakers defied May’s plea to end the deadlock that has plunged Britain into a deep political crisis, defeating her withdrawal agreement by 344 votes to 286.

It is yet another blow to a prime minister who has all but lost control of her government and the Brexit process — particularly after she offered to quit if MPs backed the deal.

Britain had been due to leave the EU on Friday, the long-heralded March 29 “Independence Day”, but faced with deadlock in parliament, May asked European leaders last week for a little more time.

She now faces having to return in the coming days to explain what happens next, after EU Council President Donald Tusk immediately called a Brussels summit for April 10.

The EU has set a deadline for April 12 for a decision, with two likely options: Britain leaves with no deal at all, or agrees a lengthy extension to allow time for a new approach.

May has said it would be “unacceptable” to ask voters to take part in forthcoming European Parliament elections, three years after they voted in a 2016 referendum to leave the EU, a decision that has sharply divided the country.

“No deal” remains the default legal option, and the European Commission said after the vote that this remained the “likely scenario”.

However, MPs have repeatedly voted against this, fearing catastrophe if Britain severs ties with its closest trading partner with no plan in place.

“I fear we are reaching the limits of this process in this House,” May said after the vote, which she described as a “matter of profound regret”.

“The implications of the House’s decision are grave,” she said, adding: “This government will continue to press the case for the orderly Brexit that the result of the referendum demands.”

The failure by parliament to agree the terms of its exit from European Union has left Britain in limbo, with business leaders and trade unions warning of a “national emergency”.

Voters are divided, many of them anxious and angry, and May blames MPs — but they in turn accuse her of refusing to countenance any alternative to her unpopular deal.

“It is clear that this House does not support the deal. This deal now has to change. There has to be an alternative found,” opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said.

“And if the prime minister can’t accept that then she must go, not at an indeterminate date in the future but now.”

Tired of waiting, MPs this week gave themselves unprecedented powers to vote on a range of options for Britain’s future relationship with the EU.

A federal high court in Awka, Anambra state capital, has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to prosecute Ifeanyi Ubah, senator-elect of Anambra-south and M.N Umenweke, the returning officer, over criminal allegations levelled against them in the February 23 election.

The order came following an application sought from the court by Chris Uba, senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the district.

Uba had, among others, asked for “A further order of mandamus compelling the 1st Respondent to prosecute the second ( Prof MN Umenweke) for announcing or publishing a false result to the effect that the 3rd Respondent had won the election held on the said 23/2/2019 even when they both knew that the said election was inconclusive and from which no genuine result had thereby been generated.”

In the order, I.B Gafai, the judge, asked the INEC to conduct investigation into the matter within 14 days for the purpose of prosecuting the respondents.

“Upon the honourable court having delivered a considered judgement today, it hereby ordered as follows: The 1st Respondent (INEC) shall within 14 days from today conduct or cause investigation into the criminal allegations of the Applicant (Chris Uba),” the judgement read in part.

“Prosecute, if the investigation result so warrants, the third Respondent ( Ifeanyi Uba) and any other person(s) implicated in its investigation.

“Where it considers it inexpedient to prosecute through its legal officers, consider at its liberty, the appointment of the Applicant’s solicitors in this suit for the purpose of such prosecution.”

Ubah won the senatorial election under the platform of the Young Peoples Party (YPP) but defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday.

The Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) has dismissed a no-case application brought before it by Walter Onnoghen, the suspended chief justice of Nigeria (CJN).

The suspended CJN had on earlier onFriday asked that the charges of false asset declaration against him should be dismissed.

The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) did not to follow its standard operations procedure in raising the charges, he further argued.

In spite of the pleas, Danladi Umar, chairman of the CCT, maintained that Onnoghen must enter his defence on Monday, April 1.

Richard Nnadi, the owner of popular club, Escape Lagos, has threatened to release a list of celebrities and politicians owing the club on April 1.

In a statement on his Instagram page, Nnadi said the club had gone bankrupt and eventually had to close down because it could no longer afford to pay its staff.

“Save the relationship. Don’t expose your customers. So we kept quiet till finally, we couldn’t sustain the club anymore so we had to close the business!” a post on the club’s Instagram page read.

“These people that owed us didn’t want us to survive …these people didn’t want us to be able to pay staff salaries … these people put over 80 families without a source of income cos we had to shut down!”

Yesterday after listening to Tiwa’s cover for Kiss Daniels ‘Fvck You, it put me on a thinking spree. Escape had to close because we were in debt of over an N120 million, and these debtors include a range of artistes, your biggest stars, people that you wouldn’t believe owe, Big Brother housemates,” he said.

“Tonto, I am sorry, you said I shouldn’t do this. But nobody is going to knock on my door, now that my business is closed and my staff can’t feed their family, and say—yo! Richard, I owe you N10 million, N5 million, here is your money. It is time people know how you guys are fvcking people’s business.”

Reacting to the post, Tonto Dikeh advised the owner to seek redress in court rather than openly subject its debtors to public shame.

Tonye Cole says the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should conduct fresh governorship and house of assembly elections in Rivers state.

Cole was the gubernatorial candidate of a faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state before the party was disqualified by the courts.

Before the general election, the supreme court had affirmed the verdict of an appeal court which upheld the decision of a lower court that nullified the primary polls of APC in Rivers.

Based on this circumstance, APC could not field candidates during the election that was held on March 9.

The election which was marred with violence among other irregularities was declared inconclusive.

The electoral commission has fixed between April 2 and 5 to resume collation and April 13 for supplementary polls “where necessary”.

In a statement on Friday, Cole said Rivers is the only state “the courts silenced almost all political opposition to an incumbent, nearly making way for a walkover election”.

Cole, who is of the faction of Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, said it would be “grossly irresponsible to proceed with concluding an electoral process that hardly anyone believes in.”

“We are the only state that is yet to conclude an election three weeks after voters went to the polls. We are the only State that armed militants and the military faced off violently. We are the only State that continues to be a cause of deep concern to the international community,” he said.

“We are the only state that the electoral body is being brazenly accused of unparalleled bias. We are the only State that is openly labeled as electorally violent. We are sick and tired of these negative headlines.

“In this atmosphere, it would be grossly irresponsible to proceed with concluding an electoral process that hardly anyone believes in.

“One side accused the security agencies of conspiring to steal the elections while the other side was accused of using the independent electoral institution to hijack the electoral process and steal the mandate. In the wake of the accusations, all driven by what politicians fear the most, which is FEAR itself, we saw death visit us as a people and destruction lay siege on our communities.

“Like politicians are want to do, each side was quick to blame the other where the one with more money and influence with the media ends up shaping the narrative that the world sees, hears and ultimately believes.

“INEC must therefore declare the entire elections of March 9th null and void and set out a new date for fresh elections.”

A high court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos has set aside a suit seeking to remove Rilwan Akiolu, as the oba of Lagos.

According to TheNation, A. Candide-Johnson, the trial judge, in a ruling, held that Adedoyin Adebiyi and Rasheed Modile, the claimants, who are two members of the Lagos royal family, failed to prove their case.

Kolapo Olusola-Eleka, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the July 14, 2018 governorship election in Ekiti state, on Friday rejected the judgment of the court of appeal in a suit he instituted to challenge the victory of Governor Kayode Fayemi of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Olusola-Eleka also said he would challenge Thursday’s court of appeal judgment affirming Fayemi as the duly elected governor of Ekiti state.

He expressed regrets at the manner in which the appeal court dismissed his appeal, saying it suggested that “our democracy is endangered.’’

“The judiciary is being gagged and justices are constantly being molested and persecuted,” he said.

He assured his followers, party and the people of Ekiti that his legal team would study the appeal court judgment and take necessary actions.

Olusola-Eleka expressed optimism that justice would be served in the end.

He commended the people of the state for the hope and confidence reposed in him, assuring them of victory eventually.

“Let us remain prayerful, it is not over, until it’s over. I have hope in the judiciary and I strongly believe that in the end, justice will be served,” he said.

The court of appeal sitting in Abuja had on Thursday upheld the victory of Fayemi as governor of the state.

In its judgment, the court also upheld the ruling of the Ekiti election tribunal of January 28, which affirmed Fayemi’s victory.

Jibrilla Bindow, outgoing governor of Adamawa state, has conceded defeat and congratulated Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, the winner of the state governorship election, held on Thursday.

Bindow congratulated the governor-elect and further wished him a successful term of office in a state broadcast on Friday.

“In view of the outcome and declaration of the results by INEC, I wish to congratulate the Governor-Elect Rt. Hon. Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri over his election as the incoming Governor of Adamawa State and wish him successful tenure,” he said.

“As a democrat, I cherish democratic norms and values, as it is practised in the civilised world.”

Mojisola Adeyeye, director-general of the National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), says she was once asked for bribe by the house of representatives committee on healthcare services.

Speaking when she featured on a Channels TV programme on Friday, Adeyeye said the committee asked her for the bribe in the form of “money for welfare” when they visited her in December, 2017.

The NAFDA DG said this happened at a time the agency was “bleeding profusely” as a result of lack of funding.

According to her, “when I came to NAFDAC, there were a lot of things that were wrong. Take oversight function or whatever that is done, I was shocked when I was told to give money, I said money for what? … money to the committee that visited us. The health care services committee of the house of representatives.

“This was 2017 December, not even a month to my resumption. We don’t have another country, this is Nigeria. I was shocked first because, this was the same day I went for a Powerpoint presentation… we don’t have equipment, about 70 percent of our equipment need to be upgraded.

“We don’t have vehicles and you use vehicles to go after the bad guys or to ensure compliance. Our directors didn’t have computers, laptops, it was shortly after that, they then asked me (and said) we need welfare.”

The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal on Thursday affirmed the victory of Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State at the July 14, 2018 governorship election in the state.

The three-man panel, led by Justice Stephen Adah, in a unanimous judgment, dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate in the election, Mr. Olusola Eleka.

Describing the appeal as “unmeritorious,” Justice Adah affirmed the July 28, 2019 judgment of the Ekiti State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which had upheld Fayemi’s victory at the poll.

The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared that Fayemi and his party, the All Progressives Congress, polled a total of 197,459 votes to defeated Eleka and the PDP who placed second with 178,121 votes in the July 14, 2018 election.

Dissatisfied with the outcome, PDP and Eleka had filed their petition before the Ekiti State Election Petition Tribunal which sat and delivered its judgment in Abuja.

The petitioners alleged, among others in their petition, that the election was marred by a lot of wrongs, including non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

But the tribunal on January 28, 2019 dismissed their petition and affirmed the results declared by INEC.

The petitioners further appealed to the Court of Appeal, raising seven issues against the judgment of the tribunal.

But delivering judgment, Justice Adah, who gave only a summary of the Court of Appeal’s verdict on Thursday, resolved all the seven issues raised against the appellants and in favour of the respondents — Fayemi, INEC and APC.

The court, which had conducted a hearing on the appeal earlier on Tuesday, dismissed the case in its judgment on Thursday for lacking in merit.

Justices Tinuade Akomolafe-Wilson and Emmanuel Agim agreed with the lead judgment delivered by Justice Adah.

The three-man panel entered the courtroom at about 7pm on Thursday but started delivering the judgment at about 7.14pm.

The summary of the judgment given on Thursday lasted more than 30 minutes.

Alex Akojah, the lawyer who led the petitioners’ team to court on Thursday, told journalists after the judgment was delivered that the legal team would need to be informed by their clients on whether or not they would appeal against the judgment to the Supreme Court.

Godswill Akpabio, senator representing Akwa Ibom north-west, says some clergymen in Akwa Ibom state have been casting aspersions on him since he defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In August, 2018, Akpabio who was minority leader at the senate, resigned his position and renounced his membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Responding to how his critics have taken his decision to join APC, Akpabio said his defection overshadowed every discussion in Akwa Ibom state and cast a spell of fear over the PDP who started paying clergymen to lie against him.

“I am happy that God is not like some of His priests,” he wrote in an article.

“Ever since I decamped to APC, they have been praying against me and they have joined in peddling the lies about me. Very well known Church prelates and Bishops that dined with me for 8 years while I was governor, despite my benevolence to them and their families joined the fray calling me killer herdsman for joining APC.

“But some of these men of God were in this same Country in 2012 when the farmers/herdsmen clashes claimed the lives of over 1000 people in the Benue/Plateau/Mambilla axis. At that time, a Christian was the President but was not accused of being a killer of Christians. The farmers/herdsmen clashes predate Nigeria’s Independence.

“The clashes have occurred under various leadership. Yet the “men of God” have been unconscionable in accusing the current President of masterminding genocide against Christians because he is a Muslim. I am happy that God does not condemn a man based on one man’s testimony, but He sees the heart and judges our motives and intentions. Whether one is a Christian or Muslim, we all worship the same God WHO will at the appointed time judge us from our deeds in words and actions.”

Akpabio said in the course of this election, he had been photo-shopped by propaganda merchants who told the lies about him. He said his letterhead and signature had been forged by the same merchants to write falsehood as if he wrote them.

He alleged that they conscripted women from South Africa who claimed to be foreign observers and paid them to lie that he detained them using thugs.

Akpabio also said he met Udom Emmanuel , governor of the state, performing the duties of a deacon in Qua Iboe Church, Surulere , Lagos, and he immediately adjudged that as a deacon, he would superintend over the affairs of the state with the fear of God.

“Whether I was right or wrong is for history to judge. Nevertheless I picked him to succeed me and by the grace of God and the votes of Akwa Ibom electorates, he won the election. So God made him governor,” he said.

The senator, who lost his reelection bid, is currently at the tribunal.

50 Cent, popular US rapper, has dished a major career advice to Floyd Mayweather, boxing champion, after Shantel Jackson, the latter’s former girlfriend, accused him of stealing $3 million in jewelry.

A report on The Blast alleged that Jackson said that the boxer allegedly stole $3 million in jewelry from her in the wake of their breakup.

Jackson claimed that the boxing champ took a $2.5 million diamond ring, $250,000 10-carat diamond earrings, a $32,000 Chanel watch, a $100,000 diamond bracelet, a $20,000 diamond heart necklace and a $21,000 Louis Vuitton lock necklace.

The news outlet also said it obtained court documents where Jackson, who is now dating Nelly, a rapper, also claimed various other items, which are listed without a known monetary value, were allegedly stolen.

These items include a platinum masterpiece rolex watch with diamonds, a gold masterpiece polex watch with diamonds, a diamond rolex, a diamond cross necklace and a diamond cuff.

Reacting to this, Mayweather sued his former girlfriend, claiming that she used his credit cards without his permission.

The boxer’s counsel added that she “intentionally used one or more recording devices to surreptitiously record conversations with Mayweather including telephonic conversations and conversations in the presence of one another without Mayweather’s knowledge or consent.”

But the G-Unit boss took to his Instagram page to advise the champ to just pay up instead of taking a possible legal war to court.

“Champ took the s**t back, huh,” he wrote.

“Nah I ain’t gonna lie I’d do the same s**LOL. Champ you not gonna win, she got Gloria Allred. Give her a mill or two and let her go before shit get crazy.”

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo says a team of 63 fingerprint experts, including 50 from the UK police, worked to help the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) reclaim some states that were allegedly rigged by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2007.

He listed the states as Osun, Ekiti, Ondo and Edo. Only Ondo that was not under the control of ACN then but Bola Tinubu, then the leader of ACN, had used his influence in assisting Olusegun Mimiko, a former governor of Ondo, to take the state from the PDP.

Mimiko belonged to the Labour party at the time. He later defected to the PDP.

Speaking at the 11th colloquium of Bola Tinubu, a national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the vice-president said Tinubu told him that they needed to prove that there was case of over voting.

“In 2007, when our party, then ACN, was rigged out of elections in Osun, Ekiti, Ondo and in Edo state. He invited me to his residence at bourdillion and he said the only way we can possibly reclaim the states that was taken away from us is going through the courts.
He said the only is by proving that there was multiple voting. Meaning that a few people singlehandedly thumb-printed ballot papers, dumped them into ballot boxes and they were counted in favour of the opposition, the PDP,” he said.

“He said the only we can do this – he said ‘I don’t know how you will do this’ – but some how proving that their is evidence that this is what happened.

“I said ‘Asiwaju, nobody has ever proven that in an electoral case’ and I said what is even more is that there are over a million ballot papers, how can we prove it? He said that was his view and I should look for a way of sorting this out.

“So I went to to the UK and met with possibly the most experienced [expert] in the entire UK. When I told the enormity of the problem, he laughed and almost fell off his chair. He said in all his experience as a finger print expert he has not done up to 4000 prints and you are now saying I should come and do 1.3 million finger prints. That was a Thursday and he called me back on Monday and he said let’s talk again about this. And we did, and somehow we found a away.

“We used a bit of technology. Most importantly we were able to get finger print experts. In the end, we hired 63 finger print experts, 50 of them were from the UK police. Asiwaju had to persuade the authorities to release them all together 63 police men – they were working for almost six months.

“We were able to put together a strong forensic case that showed that that the places that were defeated it was on account of multiple voting. To cut the long long story short, one by one, we were able to get the states taken from us.”