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BREAKING: There Will Never Be a Live Broadcast of Election Petition Proceedings – Tinubu, Shettima Boast
The President-elect, Bola Tinubu, and the Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima, have urged the Presidential Election Petition Court to dismiss the application by Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party for a live broadcast of proceedings, while arguing that the relief sought by the applicants are not such that the court could grant it.
Both Tinubu and Shettima said “With much respect to the petitioners, the motion is an abuse of the processes of this honourable court,” .
Besides describing the application as frivolous, they said the court is not a soapbox, stadium or theatre where the public should be entertained.
Through their team of lawyers, led by Chief Wole Olanipekun, they both wondered why a petitioner would file an application to distract the court and waste its precious time, while stating, in the counter affidavit, that the application relates to policy formulation of the court, which is outside the PEPC’s jurisdiction as constituted.
Olanipekun stated that: “The application also touches on the powers and jurisdiction invested in the President of the Court of Appeal by the Constitution, over which this honourable court as presently constituted cannot entertain.
“The application touches on the administrative functions, which are exclusively reserved for the President of the Court of Appeal.
“The application is aimed at dissipating the precious judicial time of this honourable court.
“The said application does not have any bearing with the petition filed by the petitioners before this honourable court.
“It is in the interest of justice for this honourable court to dismiss the said application filed by the petitioners,” they said.
In an attached written address, the respondents faulted the applicants’ reference to the fact that virtual proceedings were allowed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
They argued that Atiku and his party failed to draw the court’s attention to the fact that practice directions were made by the respective courts for the exercise.
“Another angle to this very curious application is the invitation it extends to the court to make an order that it cannot supervise.
“The position of the law remains, and we do submit that the court, like nature, does not make an order in vain, or an order which is incapable of enforcement,” the respondents stated.
More so, they stated that “At the very best, this application is academic, very otiose, very unnecessary, very time-wasting, most unusual and most unexpected, particularly, from a set of petitioners, who should be praying for the expeditious trial of their petition.
“Petitioners have brought their application under Section 36(3) of the Constitution which provides that the proceedings of a court/tribunal shall be held in public.
“The word ‘public’ as applied under Section 36(3) of the Constitution has been defined in a plethora of judicial authorities to mean a place where members of the public have unhindered access, and the court itself, sitting behind open doors, not in the camera.
“Even in situations where a class action is presented, the particular people constituting the class being represented by the plaintiffs or petitioners are always defined in the originating process.
“Here, in this application, the public at whose behest this application has been presented is not defined, not known, not discernable.
“Beyond all these, it is our submission that the court of law must and should always remain what it is, what it should be and what it is expected to be: a serene, disciplined, hallowed, tranquil, honourable and decorous institution and place.
“It is not a rostrum or a soapbox. It is not also a stadium or theatre. It is not an arena for ‘public’ entertainment.
“With much respect to the petitioners, the motion is an abuse of the processes of this honourable court.”
The Department of State Services (DSS) has successfully recaptured a high-ranking commander of the Ansaru terrorist group, Abdulazeez Obadaki.
He is believed to be the mastermind behind the horrific mass shooting at a Deeper Life Bible Church near Okene, Kogi State, which took place on August 7, 2012.
This recapture marks a significant step in bringing those responsible for the tragedy to justice. The attack on the church, a deeply sorrowful event, resulted in the tragic deaths of at least 19 worshippers, including the pastor, and left many others with varying degrees of injuries.
The DSS’s efforts to apprehend Obadaki demonstrate their commitment to combating terrorism and ensuring the safety of citizens.
Security sources disclosed that the suspected terrorist leader confessed to orchestrating the Kuje Custodial centre jailbreak following his transfer from Kabba Custodial Centre in June 2022.
According to the sources, after over three years of being on the run, DSS operatives in a, well-oiled intelligence operation recaptured Obadaki aka Bomboy, on Friday morning.
This arrest comes barely two months after the secret police arraigned five suspects linked to the 2022 Catholic Church attack in Owo, Ondo State.
During the February 2022 daylight bank robberies in Uromi, Edo State, which instilled widespread fear across the region, several policemen and bank customers were killed, while hundreds of millions of Naira was reportedly carted away.
The secret police has, of recent, been recording a chain of successes in the capture of terrorists and criminal elements across the nation, with its new leadership fast-tracking the trial of the arrested suspects.
News
Marwa To Serve As NDLEA Chairman Until 2031- Tinubu
Marwa, first appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2021, previously chaired the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse from 2018 to 2020.
•Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd)
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday renewed the reappointment of Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd) as Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for another five-year term.
Marwa, first appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2021, previously chaired the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse from 2018 to 2020.
His renewed tenure will see him lead the NDLEA until 2031.
A former military governor of Lagos and Borno States, Marwa is an alumnus of the Nigerian Military School and the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA). Commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1973.
He has held several strategic positions, including brigade major of the 23 Armoured Brigade; Aide-de-Camp to then Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Theophilus Danjuma; academic registrar of the NDA; Deputy Defence Adviser at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, D.C.; and Defence Adviser at the Nigerian Permanent Mission to the United Nations.
The Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) has issued a final mobilization directive to all its chapters nationwide, signaling readiness for an indefinite strike as its 21-day ultimatum to state governors expired today, Friday November 14.
The looming action which threatens to paralyze legislative operations across all State Houses of Assembly follows a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Bauchi State where it resolved to give State Governments a 21-day deadline, effective from October 24, to begin implementing the Consolidated Legislative Salary Structure (CONLESS) and financial autonomy for State Legislatures, as enshrined in Section 121(3) of the Nigerian Constitution (as amended).
In an official directive on Friday, the National Secretariat of the Union express disappointment that despite “ample window for compliance, reports from the states indicate that most State Governments are yet to begin the implementation as directed.
PASAN, therefore, instructed its zonal leaders to prepare for full-scale action.
The directive ordered all National Vice Presidents to “immediately mobilize all Chapters within their respective zones for industrial action as soon as the ultimatum elapses.
This action is to ensure full enforcement of the NEC resolution and to press home demand for the implementation of CONLESS without further delay.
The Union has formally notified the National Assembly leadership of the expiration of the ultimatum and its readiness for strike.
BREAKING: DSS Recaptures Ansaru Terrorist Commander Linked to Church Massacre
Marwa To Serve As NDLEA Chairman Until 2031- Tinubu
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