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BREAKING: Court chides Apapa’s lawyer for meddling in Obi’s case *Sit down quietly or leave the court, Tsammani, tells SAN
Chief Oba Maduabuchi, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), had a taste of tonguelashing from the justices of the Court of Appeal, hearing the petition of Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), challenging the declaration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 presidential election.
Maduabuchi, apparently briefed by Lamidi Apapa, the self-acclaimed National Chairman of LP, who caused a drama on Wednesday, when he went to the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT), to “assert my authority,” had announced his appearance for the party.
But the tribunal seemed not to take kindly to his move, saying that as a senior lawyer, he ought to know that the procedure before accepting the brief, which was being handled by another lawyer, ordering him to either sit down quietly and observe proceedings or leave the court.
The senior lawyer had stood up when lawyers were asked to announce their appearances, to declare that he was briefed to represent the LP, shortly after Awa Kalu another SAN, who appeared alongside five others, had already announced his presence as counsel for the petitioners.
After Justice Haruna Tsammani, heading the five-member panel of the court declined to record his appearance, saying that two lawyers could not appear one party in a case, adding: “Let the person that filed the petition make an appearance,” another member of the panel, Abba Mohammed, added: “As a learned silk, you should know better and should have advised whoever it is that briefed you that there cannot be two counsels for the petitioner.”
Taking a cue from the obvious chastisement of the justices, Maduabuchi, said he would go back and relate what happened in court to his client, to which Tsammani retorted: “That is not our business. You can either leave the court or sit and observe the proceedings.”
Apapa, who had in the Wednesday’s drama, had demanded that Akin Osuntokun, Director General of the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Organisation (ODPCO), vacated his seat for him as the leader of the party, surprisingly was seen sitting at the back of the courtroom on Friday.
Obi, who had been attending virtually all the court proceedings physically, was also present at Friday’s session alongside Julius Abure, the embattled National Chairman of the party and other key LP members.
Anyone can pay the N25,000 wrong packing penalty slammed on Peter Obi, candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress by Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, last week.
This was the angle introduced by the Minister, on Friday, when he acceded to the request of one Nnaemeka Ikerionwu, who volunteered to pick up the tab against the former Governor of Anambra State and candidate of the Labour (LP), in the 2023 presidential election.
Keyamo, who directed to the volunteer to liaise with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), on the payment process, had last Friday, Keyamo, in a statement posted on his X handle, demanded that Obi tendered a public apology to airport officials and pay a N25,000 fine.
Though the minister’s latest response suggests that government is willing to accept payment of the fine through a third party, he was however silent on whether his earlier demand that Obi tender a public apology to airport officials had been waived.
The new twist came as a consequence of what the Minister said was his investigation after the former governor cried out about alleged harassment by the Federal Government, citing the clamping of his car by airport staff during one of his use of the facility as an example.
The Minister had released as part of the investigation, a Close Circuit Television (CCTV) footage, to prove that Obi’s vehicle was parked unattended in a restricted area, prompting airport security personnel to clamp its tyres.
Keyamo said Obi arrived at the domestic wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on July 4, 2026, and left the vehicle after being dropped off by a police driver.
Meanwhile, in a post on his X handle, the Minister responded to Ikerionwu’s offer to settle the fine on Obi’s behalf by asking him to meet with FAAN’s Director of Commercial and Business Development for guidance on the payment process.
He wrote: “Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Please, Mr Nnaemeka Ikerionwu should proceed to see the Director of Commercial and Business Development for the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), and he will be directed on the mode of payment of the fine for the offender.
“Now that we have burst his bubble, next time, Peter Obi should think twice before making outlandish claims of being targeted at our airports or anywhere for that matter in order to get ‘sympathy votes’.”
Abubakar Malami, is going upstairs to get the Court of Appeal quash the judgement of the Federal High Court, Abuja, empowering the Federal Government to seize 40 properties allegedly linked to him.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had ordered the forfeiture of the properties valued at N212.8billion, after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), convinced him that they were obtained through illegal means by the former AGF-MoJ.
Before delivering the substantive judgment, the judge dismissed several applications, motions on notice and applications to show cause filed by Malami, his family members, and some companies linked to the properties, describing them as “wanting in merit”.
She held that the issue before the court was not “who owns the property, but how legitimate are the funds used to acquire the properties, adding that Malami, had “not dislodged the reasonable suspicion that the property was acquired by unlawful activities.”
But the ex-AGF-MoJ, in a statement conveyed through Bello Doka, his spokesman on Friday, stated that he respectfully disagreed with aspects of the judgment, though he remained fully committed to the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary.
He said he had instructed his legal team to immediately challenge the decision at the Court of Appeal, in line with his fundamental rights, adding that the judgement of the lower court was not the final stamp on the matter.
“The appellate process exists to ensure that every legal issue is thoroughly examined, and Mr. Malami is confident that justice will ultimately prevail,” he said, urging the public and the media to avoid premature conclusions while the judicial process runs its full course. Respect for due process remains the cornerstone of every democratic society.
Expressing his sincere appreciation of the prayers, goodwill, and steadfast support of the people of Kebbi State and Nigerians across the country, over the matter, he assured them that the development would not distract him from his unwavering commitment to serving the people and advancing his vision for a peaceful, secure, and prosperous Kebbi State.
“Supporters are encouraged to remain calm, peaceful, and law-abiding while allowing the courts to perform their constitutional role,” he said.
Adeniyi Adeyemi, controversial Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), is to cough out a whopping N15billion, should he be found guilty of defaming Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff (CoS) to President Bola Tinubu.
The former Speaker of the House of Representatives, has approached the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Abuja, Gbajabiamila, with a suit to compel the payment after flatly denying the allegation of the embattled DG, having ignored his earlier demand of N10billion and an apology from Adeyemi as the only option to stop the legal action.
Adeyemi, who was on Tuesday, arrested by the police in Osun State, barely hours after Justice Mohammed Umar of a Federal High Court in Abuja issued a warrant for that purpose, had publicly accused Gbajabiamila during a press conference on June 25, 2026, of demanding a 48 per cent kickback from a N27.3 billion take-off grant, after receiving an initial N400 million through a proxy, and demanded an additional N200 million balance.
Gbajabiamila, who handed him a 72-hour ultimatum to retract the allegation and tender a public apology or face legal action, in the suit filed on Thursday is seeking N10 billion as general damages, N5 billion as aggravated damages, N200 million as cost of the action, and an order compelling Adeyemi to publish a full retraction and apology in five national newspapers.
He is also asking the court to direct the defendant to pin the apology on all social media platforms and online channels where the alleged defamatory statements were published for 30 days.
The Chief of Staff, through his legal team from Pinheiro LP led by Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, described the allegations as false, malicious and defamatory.
In the statement of claim, Gbajabiamila denied ever meeting or communicating with Adeyemi or authorising anyone to act on his behalf.
Adeyemi, who had alleged at a press conference that a disagreement arose after Gbajabiamila purportedly demanded a 48 per cent kickback from the agency’s N27.3 billion take-off grant, had also claimed that N400 million had already been paid through a proxy on behalf of the Chief of Staff, while an additional N200 million was required to secure presidential approvals.
“The claimant has never met the defendant, never held any meeting with him and has never authorised any intermediary, representative, agent or proxy to demand or receive money on his behalf,” the court filing stated.
The suit also referred to Adeyemi’s claims regarding the alleged mysterious death of an intermediary, Mr. Babatunde Tanimola, whom he claimed served as the link between himself and the Chief of Staff.
Adeyemi alleged that Tanimola died in a suspicious hotel fire in Utako, Abuja, on October 22, 2025, a day after Gbajabiamila allegedly petitioned the police.
He further claimed that he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway in September 2025, and alleged that a “directive from above” instructed the Department of State Services, DSS, and the Nigeria Police Force to discontinue efforts to recover his stolen mobile phones, which he claimed contained crucial evidence.
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