News
BREAKING: Again, Omotosho snubs Kanu *Says no to relocation move
A move for the relocation of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), out of the Sokoto Custodial Centre, met a brickwall on Thursday, as Justice James Omotosho, who handed him a life sentence on November 20, once again disappointed the Biafran agitator.
Omotosho, pointedly said no to the request being made by someone who is not a lawyer, when Emmanuel Kanu, younger brother to the convicted IPOB leader brought the fresh motion his Federal High Court in Abuja, adducing reasons why he should be transfer, even though it was personally signed, by the IPOB leader.
Kanu, had told the court that his detention in Sokoto Custodial Center would hamper his ability to effectively appeal against his conviction and sentence, adding that in view of the impossibility of his appearance before the court or chambers to personally move the motion, Omotosho, should proceed and hear it in his absence.
In the eight grounds he raised in support of the motion ex parte marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015, Kanu stressed that he was on November 20, sentenced by the court after it found him guilty of the seven-count terrorism charge the federal government preferred against him.
Hear him: “On the 21st of November 2025, the applicant was transferred to, and is currently detained at the Sokoto Correctional Facility, which is over 700 kilometres from Abuja. The applicant, who is currently unrepresented by counsel, intends to personally exercise his constitutional right of appeal against the conviction and sentence.
“The preparation of the notice of appeal and the record of appeal requires the Applicant’s personal interface with the Registry of this Honourable Court and the Court of Appeal in Abuja. All persons critical to assisting the applicant in preparing his appeal, including his relatives, associates, and legal consultants, are based in Abuja.
“The applicant’s continued detention in Sokoto renders his constitutional right to appeal impracticable, occasioning exceptional hardship and potentially defeating the said right, in violation of Section 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended),” he added.
Stressing that it would be in the interest of justice for him to be transferred to a facility near Abuja to enable him to effectively prosecute his appeal, he prayed the court for an order to compel the federal government and/or the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) to forthwith, transfer him from the Sokoto Correctional Facility to a custodial facility within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court.
In the alternative, he sought an order transferring him to the court’s “immediate environs, such as the Suleja or the Keffi Custodial Centre, for the purpose of enabling the applicant to effectively prosecute his constitutionally guaranteed right of appeal.”
Omotosho, while declining to go into the matter proper, told the younger Kanu: “This ex parte motion cannot be moved on the convict’s behalf because you are not a legal practitioner. You either engage a legal practitioner or approach the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria for legal representation since the law allows it.
“When I said representation, it is not his (Kanu’s) father, brother, sister or relations I meant. I mean his counsel. I am not going to the merit of this application now in the interest of justice.
“But you cannot represent a human being when you are not a lawyer; you can only represent a corporate body.
“Therefore, you cannot move the application because you are not a solicitor or advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. For you to be qualified as a lawyer, it will take you another six years or thereabout. So get a counsel to move the application.”
Regarding the difficulty in the filings, Omotosho also took out time before he adjourned the motion till December 8, to respond to Aloy Ejimakor, Kanu’s former lawyer, now his consultant, who insinuated that IPOB leader could not compile his record of appearance owing to where he is currently kept.
His words: “Let me advise generally so that you don’t delay the process. The issue of appeal, I must not pretend that I am not part of society. Mr Ejimakor granted an interview, talking about the deprivation of the defendant (Kanu) to compile his record. That is an erroneous opinion.
“The defendant may not be in court to compile a record. His attendance is not required, though the appearance of his representative may be required. The rights of a defendant are different from the rights of a convict.”
The Federal Government has begun the evacuation of its citizens from South Africa, presently home to rising xenophobic attacks against other Africans in the country, with the first batch expected Thursday evening.
Kimiebi Ebienfa, spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who indicated this on Wednesday, said the evacuees would leave South Africa late Wednesday and touch down at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos on Thursday evening.
He said in a statement: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to inform that the first batch of Nigerian nationals that will be evacuated from the Republic of South Africa due to Xenophobic attacks will depart the Oliver Thambo International Airport in Johannesburg on Wednesday night, and the expected time of arrival at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos is 5.00 am on Thursday morning.
“The evacuation operation will be undertaken by Air Peace Airlines. The Federal Government of Nigeria has fully funded the evacuation exercise; consequently, all affected Nigerians will be repatriated at no cost to them.”
Ebienfa assured Nigerians that the Federal Government, through relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), has put in place the necessary reception and support arrangements for the returnees.
“Upon arrival, the evacuees will undergo documentation and profiling procedures and will receive the appropriate assistance and support before being reunited with their families,” the ministry’s spokesperson added.
Tensions soared in South Africa after a citizen-led group opposed to irregular migration last month ordered all undocumented foreign nationals to leave by June 30.
Ghana and Mozambique have repatriated hundreds of their citizens; Malawi and Nigeria have announced they would do the same. Last week, Nigeria said it planned to repatriate more than 1,000 of its nationals from South Africa.
“Total figure not out yet,” Ebienfa said. “We are expecting over a 1,000 persons.”
In a statement, Nigeria’s High Commission in Pretoria said it had “negotiated waivers with host authorities” so that those with “immigration-related offences” would be allowed to leave on the eventual repatriation flights rather than be detained.
On Monday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, said Nigeria may be considering retaliatory measures against South Africa following the hostility towards Nigerians and other black African migrants.
When asked whether Nigeria was considering retaliatory measures, Odumegwu-Ojukwu said the option was under consideration.
“Well, that is a situation that we are considering. This is up to our legislature,” she said. “This is a decision that has to be taken at the highest level of government, but it’s not off the table.”
South Africa, until recently the continent’s most industrialised economy, has long attracted workers from across the region.
But saddled with an unemployment rate of over 30 percent, it has seen repeated spurts of xenophobic protests — including renewed violence in recent weeks.
The latest tensions have revived uncomfortable debates across Africa about xenophobia, migration and the gap between pan-African rhetoric and realities facing migration on the continent.
An ultimatum by one citizen-led group for illegal migrants to be expelled by June 30 has raised fears of violence after bouts of anti-immigrant unrest in the past that claimed dozens of lives.
Last month, Ghana repatriated some 300 people, the first batch of what authorities said was expected to be a total of about 800 Ghanaian nationals.
The South African government has said it is stepping up enforcement against undocumented immigrants but urged citizens not to take matters into their own hands.
There are more than three million foreigners living in South Africa, or 5.1 percent of the population, according to the statistics agency.
More than 63 percent come from countries in the 16-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc.
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday, announced the approval of the establishment of a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats and ordered the immediate release of ₦10 billion as emergency intervention funding.
Bayo Onanuga, presidential spokesman, who conveyed the development to the public, said the fund would strengthen the operational preparedness of the National Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and support critical national public health emergency response activities.
To be chaired by Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff (CoS) to the President, the committee with membership drawn from relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and state representatives is also expected to get briefings on their plans to contain the disease.
Onanuga, stated that Tinubu also specifically directed all states hosting international airports and international border corridors, as well as relevant MDAs, to submit their plans, funding requirements and intervention needs for consideration and coordinated implementation.
Stating that the President’s move followed a stakeholder meeting convened under the CoS to review Nigeria’s preparedness and develop strategies against the possible importation of Ebola into the country., the statement informed that the Task Force would also intensify passenger screening at all international airports through enhanced temperature checks and crowd-control protocols.
Other measures would also include enhanced monitoring of passengers arriving through high-risk airline routes, including Air Uganda, Rwanda Air, Air Tanzania, Air Angola, Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines; and the immediate activation of referral and isolation centres at the Lagos and Abuja international airports, with other airports to follow.
Other measures include the mandatory activation of QR code-based pre-arrival health declaration systems for passengers originating from or transiting through designated high-risk countries, as well as the disinfection of departure halls, cargoes, baggage areas and airport facilities as precautionary environmental measures.
The President also directed the advisory group to consult with security, diplomatic and aviation bodies on regulating flights from affected and designated high-risk countries and mandated the task force to designate specific airports or terminals for high-risk flights to enable controlled screening and isolation procedures, and to consider adjusting flight schedules to minimise interaction between high-risk passengers and other travellers.
Justice Akintoye Aluko of the Federal High Court, Lagos on Tuesday ordered the remand of Paul Jibrin Oweleke in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) over alleged cybercrime offences linked to social media broadcasts that allegedly called for overthrow of President Bola Tinubu.
Specifically, Oweleke, in a two-count charge was accused of publishing posts on his online platform known as “Oweleke TV”, urging the Nigerian military to remove the President from office in a manner similar to takeovers in some West African countries, an act the agency said bordered on incitement and the use of a computer system to disseminate content considered prejudicial to national security and constitutional governance.
Oweleke’s broadcasts, the agency stressed, were capable of inciting public disorder and promoting disaffection against the government, which will undermine the country’s democracy.
Legal argument had ensued immediately after Oweleke, pleaded not guilty to the charges, with his lawyer kicking vehemently against the prayer of the agency that the court should order his remand pending the commencement of trial, on the ground that a bail application had already been filed and served on the prosecution.
But Aluko, who was persuaded to grant the prayer, went with the DSS, while adjourning the matter to June 16 for the hearing of the bail application, stating that Oweleke, would remain in the facility of the agency pending the outcome.
-
News4 weeks agoTinubu to African leaders: Copy Nigeria, produce your way out of poverty
-
News3 weeks agoBREAKING: US-Nigeria troops slaughter 175 ISWAP fighters
-
Columns3 weeks agoDear General Gowon: That apology you’re running from is your nemesis
-
News1 week agoBREAKING: Terrorists strike Ibadan again! Abduct ex-Minister’s sister, twin children
-
News4 weeks agoWhy we pegged presidential ticket forms at N60million – NDC
-
News4 weeks agoGowon on civil war: My book is to put records straight, remove falsehood
-
News3 weeks agoBREAKING: Wait over! Arsenal are CHAMPIONS! Win EPL after 22 years hiatus
-
Columns2 weeks agoSee Tinubu’s terrible damage on Option A4 and its precious memories