JUDICIARY
Akwa Ibom APC Governorship Crisis: Court Rules on Ita Enang’s Motion Nov. 28
A Federal High Court (FHC) in Abuja has fixed Nov. 28 to deliver a ruling in a motion filed by Sen. Ita Enang, seeking to be joined in the suit filed by Akanimo Udofia and the All Progressives Congress (APC) against Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Justice Emeka Nwite fixed the date on Monday after counsel for the parties adopted their processes and presented their arguments for and against the motion.
News report that Enang, former Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, had filed the motion on notice marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1290/22, after Justice Nwite granted him leave to do so.
The application, seeking to join Enang, a governorship aspirant of APC as 2nd defendant in the suit, was dated and filed on Oct.
12.Newsmen report that APC and Udofia had sued INEC as the sole defendant in the matter.
Udofia, a factional governorship candidate of the APC, is seeking an order compelling INEC to accept his name as governorship candidate for Akwa Ibom 2023 poll.
He is also asking for an order directing the commission to publish his name as forwarded by the party to it.
The plaintiffs had, in the suit, argued that INEC cannot refuse to publish the name of a person sent to it as the candidate of a political party.
The court after listening to parties in the suit had fixed Oct 6 for judgment.
But the appearance of Enang in court forced the judge to halt the delivery of the judgment.
Enang drew the attention of the court to his presence as a party seeking to be joined in the matter.
He argued that he would be prejudiced if the court delivered its judgment without hearing him out.
Meanwhile, in the affidavit in support of the motion for joinder, Enang averred that contested in the APC Akwa Ibom governorship election of May 26, alongside with the 2nd plaintiff (Udofia) and others.
He argued that the intention of the plaintiffs is to obtained judgment behind his back, having refused to serve him with the court processes knowing that he is a necessary party for the just determination of this suit.
Enang therefore urged the court to grant his application to enable him protect his interest as a candidate of the APC in the governorship election.
When the matter was called, Enang, who appeared for himself, told the court that on Oct 19, he filed better and further affidavit where he exhibited INEC’s report that there was no governorship primary for APC in Akwa Ibom.
He said that Udofia filed the suit despite a similar matter which had been reserved for judgment in Uyo division of the court.
He told Justice Nwite that he had set out the prayers in Abuja and Uyo courts clearly in his points of law filed to make it easier for the court to determine that the two matters are similar.
“My lord, this is the same subject matter, same claim and same parties. I have not seen this practice for a long time.
“As a trustees at the bar, I have not seen a situation where counsel in a matter who have appeared before the same court sitting in another jurisdiction will file a case like,” he said.
He called the attention of the court to FHC’s chief judge’s Practice Direction which states that parties, in a pre-election matter, must filed non-duplicity of suit.
He argued that Udofia and his lawyer filed a non-multiplicity of suit before Abuja court despite a similar matter pending in Uyo court.
He vowed to take up the matter against them.
“On why I should be joined in the suit, I am the appropriate person who contested and won in the election. If any name must be forwarded to INEC, it has to be my name,” he said.
Enang, who alleged that Udofia was not an APC member as at the time the poll was conducted, said he (Udofia) contested in the PDP governorship primary election held on May 25 before coming to contest the APC primary on May 26.
“We have also exhibited the ballot papers of the PDP in our application,” he said.
Lawyer to the plaintiffs, Valentine Offia, opposed the application.
Offia, who urged the court to dismiss Enang’s motion, said the subject matter in the two suits are different.
He said while Udofia is contending INEC’s refusal to accept his name as forwarded to it by APC, Enang’s suit in Uyo stemmed from the election conducted on May 26..
The judge consequently fixed Nov. 28 for ruling on Enang’s motion for joinder.(NAN)
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has told the Federal High Court in Abuja that Mr Karl Toriola, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, and others were evading service of court documents on them.
FCCPC, through its lawyer, Nsitem Chizenum, told Justice Hauwa Yilwa upon resumed hearing of the matter on Wednesday.
FCCPC had, in the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/354/2024, dragged the MTN Nigeria Communications Plc; Toriola; Tobechukwu Okigbo, MTN’s Chief Corporate Services and Sustainability Officer, and Ikenna Ikeme, General Manager, Regulatory Affairs of MTN, to court as 1st to 4th defendants respectively.
They were preferred with two counts in the charge, dated July 19, 2024, and filed July 22, 2024 by a team of lawyers led by Akoji Achimugu.
The defendants would be arraigned over alleged failure to produce documents and information required by the commission in compliance with a lawful summons contrary to the FCCPC Act.
The matter was fixed for May 28 for the defendants to take their plea.
When the matter was called on Wednesday, none of the defendants was in court.
The lawyer who appeared for FCCPC, Chizenum, told the judge that it was obvious that the defendants were not in court.
He said on the last adjourned date, the court hinted that it was the duty of the prosecution to bring the defendants to court, hence, efforts were made to produce them in court today.
“We have made several efforts and we equally used the bailiff of this court to serve them but it seems they were evading service my lord,” he said.
The lawyer also told the court that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) had been involved and that their application was being processed by the NPF with a view to produce the defendants in court.
“In the circumstance, we ask for an adjournment to enable us bring the defendants for arraignment my lord,” he said.
Justice Yilwa subsequently adjourned the until Sept. 25 for arraignment.
In count one, the MTN Nigeria Communications PLC, Toriola, Okigbo and Ikeme were alleged to have on or about June 18, 2024 did without sufficient cause failed to produce documents and or information which they were required to produce, “in compliance with a lawful Summons and Request to Produce dated May 17, 2024.”
The commission alleged that the compliance with same summon was further extended by a letter dated June 5, 2024 and they thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 33 (3) of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018.
In count two, the defendants were alleged to have “on or about June 18, 2024, in furtherance, and continuation of extant refusal to produce documents and supply information required by the commission under statutory notice and demand, did impede and obstruct the FCCPC’s ongoing limited initial inquiry and possible prospective investigation by refusing to produce and supply documents and or information” requested.
The offence is said to be contrary to Section 111 (1) of the FCCP Act, 2018, and punishable under Section 111 (2) of the same act.
The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) had, in another matter, filed charge against MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd; its CEO, Toriola; MTN Senior Executive Officer, Nkeakam Abhulimen; Fun Mobile Ltd, a telecommunications service provider; and Yahaya Maibe, its CEO.
The NCC, in the three-count charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/111/2024 presently before Justice Inyang Ekwo of a sister court, filed it on March 20, 2024.
The prosecution had alleged that the defendants, between 2010 and 2017, “offered for sale, sold and traded for business, infringed musical works of Maleke Moye, an artiste, without his consent and authorisation.”
The commission alleged that the defendants used Maleke’s musical works and sound recordings with subsisting copyright, known as “caller ring back tunes” without the authorization of the artiste, among others.
The copyright commission said the alleged offence is punishable under Section 20 (2) (a) (b) and (c) of the Copyright Act, Cap. C28, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
Justice Ekwo had, on Feb. 25, adjourned the matter until May 15 for report, following the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF)’s interest to take over the case.
However, the matter could not proceed on May 15 because the court did not sit.(NAN)
A Kaduna Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday sentenced a 39-year-old travel agent, Adebayo Oyeronke, to four years imprisonment over a N6.2 million visa fraud.
Oyeronke had pleaded guilty to the charges of fraud and theft.
Delivering judgment, Magistrate Ibrahim Emmanuel, held that Oyeronke was guilty of defrauding Rita Francis and four others of the sum of N6.
2 million.Emmanuel who did not give the convict an option of fine, ordered him to pay N2 million each as compensation to the victims.
The magistrate also ordered him to undertake an affidavit of good conduct, pledging never to engage in any criminal or corrupt activities again.
Earlier, the prosecution Insp.
Chidi Leo told the court that the convict committed the offences between December 2024 and April 2025 at Barnawa Kaduna.Leo said that the defendant collected N6.2 million from the complainants; Rita Francis, Mohammed Sadiq, Christian Baba, Williams Abiodun and Nathan Victor, with a promise to get them Polish visa.
He said after the convict collected the money, he absconded to an unknown destination until he was arrested on May 15.
The prosecutor said the offences contravened the Penal Code of Kaduna State, 2017. (NAN)
A 31-year-old woman, Opeyemi Bakare, on Tuesday appeared before an Iyaganku Chief Magistrates’ Court for allegedly stealing an iPhone valued at N500,000.
Bakare, of undisclosed address, was charged with two counts of conspiracy and stealing .
The prosecutor, Insp Iyabo Oladoyin, told the court that the defendant and others at large conspired and committed the offences on May 2 at 3.
30 p. m. in the Dugbe area of Ibadan.According to Oladoyin, the defendant stole an iPhone 12 valued at N505,000, belonging to the complainant, Mr Oluseyi Oba.
The prosecutor said the phone was stolen in Dugbe Market and was tracked to the defendant.
She said the offences contravened Sections 390 (9) and 516 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Oyo State, 2000.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The Magistrate, Mrs T.G. Daodu, admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of one million naira with two sureties in like sum.
Daodu thereafter adjourned the case until July 8 for hearing. (NAN)
A 31-year-old woman, Opeyemi Bakare, on Tuesday appeared before an Iyaganku Chief Magistrates’ Court for allegedly stealing an iPhone valued at N500,000.
Bakare, of undisclosed address, was charged with two counts of conspiracy and stealing .
The prosecutor, Insp Iyabo Oladoyin, told the court that the defendant and others at large conspired and committed the offences on May 2 at 3.30 p.m. in the Dugbe area of Ibadan.
According to Oladoyin, the defendant stole an iPhone 12 valued at N505,000, belonging to the complainant, Mr Oluseyi Oba.
The prosecutor said the phone was stolen in Dugbe Market and was tracked to the defendant.
She said the offences contravened Sections 390 (9) and 516 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Oyo State, 2000.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The Magistrate, Mrs T.G. Daodu, admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of one million naira with two sureties in like sum.
Daodu thereafter adjourned the case until July 8 for hearing. (NAN)
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