JUDICIARY
Court to Hear Suit Asking PDP NWC to Convene NEC Meeting, Feb. 8
The Federal High Court Abuja on Tuesday, fixed Feb. 8 to hear a suit challenging the Peoples Democratic Party , (PDP) for failure to convene a National Executive Counsel, (NEC) meeting within the constitutionally stipulated period.
A PDP governorship aspirant in Ogun during the 2023 general elections, Mr Segun Sowunmi filed the suit marked (FHC/ABJ/CS/T024) at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Sowunmi listed the PDP, Acting National Chairman, Mr Iliya Damagum and the National Secretary, Mr Samuel Anyanwu as respondents.
Other respondents are the National Organising Secretary, Mr Umar Bature, National Auditor, Mr Okechukwu Daniel the National Treasurer, Mr Ahmed Yayari, the National Youth Leader Mr Muhammed Kadade and the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC).
When the matter was called, counsel to the plaintiff, Mr Anderson Asemota told the court that the matter was coming up for the first time.
Asemota said that so far, he had served the 1st and 8th respondents (the PDP and INEC) with court processes.
He, however, said he had yet to serve the 2nd to 7th respondents because he had attempted to serve them to no avail.
“My lord, it is based on this that I have filed a motion for substituted service, unfortunately, it is not in the records of the court.
“In view of this, we shall be asking for a short date to enable us take our motion for substituted service,” Asemota submitted.
The judge, Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon asked the counsel to make another attempt at serving the respondents personally and give a report of service on the next adjourned date.
She adjourned the matter until Feb. 8 for report of service or for the plaintiff to present his argument on the motion for substituted service.
Reports says that Sowunmi, through Asemota accused the PDP National Working Committee, (NWC) of failing in their responsibility of being accountable to members of the party.
He said this was based on the grounds that it was more than a year since the last NEC meeting was held yet the party leadership had refused to conduct mandatory quarterly meetings since the last elections.
The plaintiff, in his originating summons said that the NEC meeting was an important component of the party structure as it afforded members the opportunity to present quarterly reports on financial matters, including income and expenditures.
He, however, said that since the presidential and national assembly elections of 2023, as well as the gubernatorial elections there had been no such report.
He contended that refusing to hold the NEC meeting violated the party’s constitution.
He claimed that attempts by him to appeal to party officials to convene a NEC meeting were disregarded in spite of the pending elections in Ondo and Edo which required adequate preparation and planning.
He posed some questions for the court to interpret as part of efforts to support his suit.
“Whether upon a proper construction and interpretation of the provisions of Articles 31(2)(d),[4) &(5) of the Peoples’ Democratic Party Constitution(as amended in 2017), the plaintiff being a registered member and spokesperson of the party during the last general election is not obligated/entitled to bring this action to give effect to the aims and objectives of the PDP as enshrined in Article seven of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017).
” To also ensure that these provisions of the PDP Constitution are observed and respected by members and national officers.
“Whether upon a proper construction and interpretation of the provisions of Articles 31(2)(d),(4) &(5) of the PDP Constitution the 1st to 7th defendants are not obligated to call for or cause to be called and held quarterly or at the request of one-third of members of the NEC of the PDP the meeting of the National Executive Committee of the PDP at which the defendants shall present quarterly financial reports on income and expenditure of the party to the members of the National Executive Committee.
“Whether upon a proper construction and interpretation of the provisions of Articles 31(2)(d),(4)&(5) of the PDP Constitution the 1st to 7th defendants are not obligated to call for or cause to be called and held quarterly or at the request of one-third of members of the NEC of the PDP the meeting of the National Executive Committee of the PDP at which the defendants shall present quarterly reports containing the activities of the PDP to the members of the National Executive Committee.”
He further prayed that should the questions posed for determination be resolved in his favour , the court should grant all the reliefs he was seeking.
“A declaration that under and by virtue of the provisions of Article 31(2)(d), (4) & (5) of the PDP Constitution, the plaintiff being a registered member and spokesperson of the party during the last election is obligated and/or entitled to bring this action to give effect to the aims and objectives of the PDP as enshrined in Article 7 of the party’s and to ensure that these provisions of the PDP Constitution are observed and respected by members and national officers.
“A declaration that under and by virtue of the provisions of Articles 31(2)(4)&(5) of the PDP Constitution and Section 82(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022, the 1st to 7th Defendants are obligated to call for or cause to be called and held quarterly or at the request of one-third of members of the NEC of the PDP the meeting of the National Executive Committee of the PDP.
“At this meeting, the 1st to 7th defendants shall present quarterly financial reports on income and expenditure of the party to the members of the National Executive Committee.
“A declaration that under and by virtue of the provisions of Article Articles 31(2)(4)&(5) of the PDP Constitution and Section 82(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022, the 1st to 7th defendants are obligated to call for or cause to be called and held quarterly or at the request of one-third of members of the NEC of the PDP the meeting of the National Executive Committee of the PDP at which the defendants shall present quarterly reports containing the activities of the PDP to the members of the National Executive Committee.”
He, therefore, prayed the court to make an order compelling the party’s officials to convene the NEC meeting and a restraining order preventing the party and INEC from further delays. (NAN)
The Department of State Services (DSS), on Thursday, tendered a generated copy of the message posted by Omoyele Sowore on his social media handles where he allegedly defamed President Bola Tinubu as evidence at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The DSS also played the video evidence of President Tinubu’s speech made on Aug.
26, 2025, during his state’s visit to Brazil, before Justice Mohammed Umar in establishing its cyberstalking charge against Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters.Both the message and the video recording in a flash drive were admitted in evidence and marked as exhibits by Justice Umar after counsel for the defendant, Marshal Abubakar, reserved his objection and until final written addresses stage.
The development occurred when the security agency’s 1st prosecution witness (PW-1) and an operative of the service, Cyril Nosike, was being led in evidence by its lawyer, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Sowore is being prosecuted for referring to the president as “criminal” in his X and Meta handles.
In the amended charge, marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/484/2025 and filed on Dec. 5, Sowore is named as sole defendant.
Although Sowore, X Incorp (formerly Twitter) and Meta (Facebook) Incorp were listed in the earlier charge as 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants respectively, in the amended charge, the names of 2nd and 3rd defendants were dropped.
Testifying, Nosike said he works at the Cyberspace Monitoring Centre of the service.
According to my duty is to monitor the cyberspace 24 hours, night and day.
“I am here to give evidence in support of the charges filed against the defendant,” he said.
Narrating how he came across Sowore’s post, he said: “On the 26th of August, 2025, in the course of my duty at the Cyberspace Monitoring Centre, I detected and monitored a post by the defendant through his X handle.
“The post was referenced as such: ‘This criminal @officialABAT actually went to Brazil to say that there is no more corruption under his regime in Nigeria. What an audacity to lie shamelessly.’”
The witness explained that the X handle; “@officialABAT” is the official X handle of the President and Commander-In-Chief of Nigeria.
He said after he came across the president’s video, he downloaded it and saved it in a flash drive and marked the flash drive as “XYZ.”
He said he equally had a certificate of compliance of to back this in compliance with the Evidence Act.
The judge admitted the flash drive as Exhibit “A” and the certificate of compliance as Exhibit “B” after Abubakar said he would respond in appropriate time.
The video recording was then played for some minutes.
The video showed President Tinubu speaking about the achievements of his administration and encouraged the Brazilians to invest in Nigeria because there was now a conducive business environment, where there is no more corruption.
Nosike said when he saw Sowore’s post, he made a screenshot of it, including the reaction and a certificate of compliance to back it.
The judge equally admitted these in evidence and marked them as Exhibits “C” and “C1” after the defendant’s lawyer reserved his objection.
When the DSS lawyer asked the witness what his office did seeing the post, he said: “Seeing the reactions from this post, the DSS wrote a letter officially to the owners of X and Facebook, which is Meta, through their email addresses.
“We also have the screenshot of the letter and certificate of compliance
“The letter was for them to take down the post considering that the statement on that post was generating lots of tension.”
The screenshot of the letter was marked at Exhibit “D” by the judge.
The witness further told the court that tye DSS also wrote a letter to Sowore through his lawyers and that they also acknowledged the receipt of the letter.
According to him, the letter was a demand to retract that post.
Justice Umar admitted it in evidence and marked it as Exhibit “E” after Abubakar reserved his objection.
The witness said after Sowore received the letter, despite being a classified information, “he went ahead to post this on his X and Meta platforms.”
According to him, as expected, the letter also garnered reactions from Nigerians and the content of the reactions of that letter were far-reaching and painted the service in bad light.
The officer said he made a screenshot of the post and had a certificate of compliance in support and it was admitted as Exhibit “F.”
The witness told the court that Sowore’s inciting posts made their work, as security agencies, complicated.
“We have officers and men who have sworn on oath to put themselves on the line for the security and stability of this country.
“Such inciting posts that generate tension, make our work more difficult and we take such issues very seriously,” Nosike said.
When Abubakar was directed to cross-examine the witness, he prayed the court to allow him study the evidence of the witness.
He, therefore, sought an adjournment to February but DSS counsel objected.
Kehinde argued that Section 396(3) of Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, stipulates day-to-day trial after arraignment.
He said there was no basis for Abubakar’s plea for adjournment.
Justice Umar subsequently adjourned the matter until Jan. 27 for cross-examination of the PW-1 and continuation of hearing.
Gov. Douye Diri of Bayelsa says the judiciary remains the hope of the common man in the society, charging officers in the temple of justice to always strive to be upright.Diri said this on Friday in Yenagoa at a Thanksgiving/Valedictory Court Section for the commencement of the 2025/2026 Legal Year in the state.
The governor said: “It has become an annual ritual but we all know that the bible says seek ye first the kingdom of God and all other things shall be added on to thee. “Today we are handing over this new legal year to God for His protection to the judiciary. I believe you are going to do beyond our expectations with God on your side.“In this country today without exception, I appeal to us Nigerians, Bayelsa people to allow the judiciary to be used by God, to be allowed to work to the best of their ability and conscience to deliver incorruptible and sound judgement.”Diri said that the trust of the public lies with the judiciary which demands justice for all manner of people, irrespective of the class in the society.The governor urged the judiciary especially the judges to always stand tall on what is right, as they are highly autonomous as an arm of the government.On her part, Justice Matilda Ayemieye, the Chief Judge of Bayelsa, commended the Bayelsa government for the support in various ways to ensure that the judiciary is autonomous.She said that the judiciary enjoys cordial working relationship with the Nigeria Bar Association, the Legislature and the Executive.The chief judge said that the new legal year allows them to assess the previous year, adding that it is a day of accountability towards the people they serve and to strengthen the rule of law.Ayemieye said that the Bayelsa judiciary aspires to be one of the best judiciary as they have earned respect among other judiciary in the country.Also, Mr Biriyai Dambo (SAN) the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, expressed happiness over the commencement of the new legal year.He said that they are committed to service delivery in Bayelsa and commended the bar and the bench for their hard work to ensure that justice is served in Bayelsa.The Commissioner said that for the past years the judicial system had changed and that the welfare of the judiciary and that of the Ministry Justice is one of the priorities of Diri’s administration which has paid in full all monies owed law officers.“This current administration has boosted the morale of law officers, as they have contributed to the justice delivery in Bayelsa state.“This current administration has equally assisted the NBA Yenagoa and Sagbama branches respectively. My office is wide open to enhance the justice system in Bayelsa state,” he said. (NAN)
The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed cybercrime charges filed by the Inspector-General of Police against a female medical doctor, Bolanle Aseyan. Delivering judgment on Friday, Justice Peter Lifu discharged and acquitted Aseyan, stating that the police failed to prove the essential elements of the alleged offences.
The Inspector-General had arraigned Aseyan on a four-count charge of defamation, harassment, and intimidation against another doctor, Olufunmilayo Ogunsanya. The police alleged that Aseyan used social media platforms to harm Ogunsanya’s reputation. He was said to be her former boyfriend. The charges were filed under Section 24 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention) Act, which addresses online threats and cyber harassment. To support the case, the police presented three witnesses. Aseyan also called two witnesses to testify in her defence during the trial. Justice Lifu, while reviewing the matter, noted both doctors were once in a romantic relationship before it turned sour. He further observed that the two had sexual relations while in the United Kingdom and later made conflicting social media posts against each other. The judge held that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and therefore could not secure a conviction. Specifically, the judge said the defendant’s alleged Twitter handle used in the cyberbullying was not tendered as evidence before the court. Justice Lifu also said there was no proof of threats or intimidation, but rather evidence of a previous affectionate relationship. Consequently, the judge dismissed all four charges, discharged and acquitted Aseyan, and declared the case closed. He ordered the police to immediately return all seized items, including her international passport, upon service of the judgment. Aseyan said she met Ogunsanya online in 2019 and travelled to the United Kingdom in 2020, where she claimed she was raped. She stated that upon arrival in Leeds on March 7, 2020, tired and disoriented, Ogunsanya offered her wine shortly after she got to his home. She alleged that after taking the drink, she passed out and later woke up to find that he had allegedly had sex with her without consent. Aseyan further claimed that Ogunsanya maltreated her before she returned to Nigeria shortly after the alleged incident. (NAN)
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