NEWS
Drama in Court as Police Arrest Witness in Offa Robbery Case
A witness for one of the five accused persons in the April 5, 2018, armed robbery attack in Offa, Kwara, Ms Omolara Ogundiran, was on Friday arrested within the court premises by the Police.
Reports says that Omolara is a graduate of Ire Polytechnic, Osun State, and is the younger sister of the fifth defendant, Niyi Ogundiran.
Omolara Ogundiran, a resident of Odoota area of Ilorin metropolis, is a sister to one of the accused persons, Niyi Ogundiran, who is standing trial in the armed robbery case.
NAN recalls that Michael Adikwu (deceased), Ayoade Akinnibosun, Azeez Salahudeen, Niyi Ogundiran, Ibikunle Ogunleye and Adeola Abraham were arrested in connection with the bloody armed robbery incident.
At the resumed hearing on Friday, Omolara Ogundiran, who was called in as witness in the case by the defence counsel, Mr Mathias Emeribe, tendered a receipt which she said was issued by a spare parts seller in Osogbo to his brother.
Recall that Niyi Ogundiran had told the court while testifying that he was never in Offa town on the day of the robbery incident, but travelled to Osogbo to purchase spare parts for ther second defendant’s vehicle.
After arguments by both the defence and prosecution counsels on admissibility of a 10-paragraph affidavit brought by the defence counsel on the receipt, the Presiding Judge, Justice Halimat Salman, however rejected the admissibility of the receipt as evidence, describing it as a sham.
She said the defendant cannot seek to tender any evidence through the backdoor while they had all the opportunity to do so at various stages of the trial since it started about six years ago, but didn’t.
“For you to now remember after about six years to present receipt speaks volume.
“It seems like one looking back while facing front. Court doesn’t operate by application but by law.
“The receipt is not enough. It’s a sham. I won’t say more than that.
“The signature in the affidavit is also different from the one on the receipt. It lacked merit,” the court ruled.
She later adjourned the case till April 9, for adoption of written addresses by the counsels.
Earlier, while giving evidence, Omolara (PW11) had told the court that she went to Osogbo to collect a receipt for some motor spare parts of the vehicle bought by Niyi on the day of the robbery.
“When I got to Malam Ali shop (motor spare parts seller), I met him attending to a customer and he said I should sit down and pray for one not to be unfortunate in any situation.
“So he opened the receipt and saw the duplicate before he issued another one to me and I left.
“I saw Malam Ali inside the court premises today and he greeted me. But I can’t see him inside the court now,” she said.
However, during cross examination, Omolara told the court that “I am a religious Christian and attended primary school in Ise Ekiti.
“I also went to secondary school in Oro but don’t remember the name before I proceeded to Ire Poly for my OND.
“I can’t remember the day, month, but it was last year 2023 that I went to Osogbo for the receipt.
“Malam Ali wrote the receipt in my presence before he gave it to me and wrote the date that my brother came to buy the items (backdated it to April 5, 2018).
“I didn’t go to Osogbo with Niyi Ogundiran, the fifth defendant. I didn’t sign the customer section in the receipt, but Malam Ali did and I cannot remember who signed it.
“When I came back to Ilorin, the receipt was with me and I only gave it to my lawyer when they were talking about it.
“I was in court when my brother was giving evidence on the case. Niyi and I are siblings but it’s God that will fight for him not me,” she submitted.
The Defence Counsel, Mr Mathias Emeribe, later told newsmen that he would have to find out the situation regarding the development.
“Why they are arresting her, I don’t know. But she is one of our witnesses who had come to tender documents and I have been told that they wanted her at the state CID in respect of the matter.
“Until I get there before I know what the situation is.
“They intended taking her away earlier but I resisted it because she is a witness and I wouldn’t want a situation where after she had gone, the testimony she would give would be different from what she is supposed to give.
“So I sought the protection of the court which was graciously granted by the trial judge that she can only be taken away after the court has ruled in respect of the matter,” Emeribe explained.
However, the Prosecuting Counsel, Rotimi Jacob (SAN), said “there are bold consequences for trying to deceive the court”.
“You heard from the proceedings today where the witness went to Osogbo to collect a fresh receipt that bothers on the issue that her brother was there to buy spare parts on the day of the robbery.
”She was issued a receipt dated April 5, 2018, which she brought to the court.
“But you had her telling the court that the receipt was issued last year but backdated to the date of the crime,” Jacob added.
He said “both parties have closed their cases and will now proceed to address the court and for the adoption of our written addresses for the court to adjourn for judgement”. (NAN)
The FCT Customary Court, Dutse, Abuja has appealed to the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) to facilitate the renovation of its court complex which fell victim to vandalism and arson during the 2020 EndSARS protests.The President of the Court, Aderinto Adesoji, made the appeal during a resumed hearing in a divorce case between a petitioner, Chiwendu Nwadi and her husband, Emeka Nwadi in Ushafa, Abuja.
The Customary Court, Dutse has been sharing the court complex of a sister court in Ushafa for its sittings following the destruction. of its facilities, four years back.NAN reports that while Customary Court, Ushafa, the real owner of the facility, has its sittings on Monday, Wednesday and Friday in a week, the Dutse court has its sittings on Tuesday and Thursday. Report says that Dutse and Ushafa are communities in Bwari Area Council of the FCT and they are about 17 kilometres apart.Addressing lawyers to the parties in the divorce case, when they were finding it difficult to agree on a date for next hearing in the matter, the President of the court said it is a recurrent challenge in matters before the courtAccording to him, the constraint of the panel, sitting only twice in a week has grossly affected quick dispensation of justice.He said most cases before the cout involve families, in particular, custody of children which require urgent adjudication, and should not be encumbered.Adesoji said, considering the fact that lawyers and their clients are affected by the constraints, the NBA should take steps to ensure that the appropriate authorities renovate the Dutse court complex.He said promises have been made by the association to that effect in the past, but they were yet to be actualised.Responding to the President’s appeal, Mr Moses Ibe, the lawyer to the petitioner promised the court that he would convey the message to the NBA, Bwari branch for necessary action.Ibe said this in an interview after the court session, that the distance of the court to its jurisdiction and the restrictive days of sittings have affected quick dispensation of justice.He said the essence of building the Dutse court was to bring justice closer to the people, but it has been defeated by the failure of appropriate authorities to renovate it for useThe Counsel promised to officially write to the NBA, Bwari branch to convey the Judge’s message and request for interventionAccording to Ibe, the Dutse court complex, used to serve as the Secretariat of the NBA Bwari branch, before it was vandalised and set ablaze by the EndSARS protesters.Meanwhile, the court has adjourned further hearing in the divorce petition until Oct. 21 to enable the respondent file his reply.Adesoji and other members of the panel, Nana Atipkoru, Aisha Hamza adjourned the case following the position of the respondent’s lawyer, Cornelius Simon, that his client was not served with the “particular of claims” in the petition.The panel directed that all necessary processes should be filed and served before the adjourned date so that the case would be fixed for definite hearing.The panel also ordered that the parties should maintain the status quo, particularly, as regards the custody of the children – the last child is with the petitioner, while the other two are in the custody of the respondent.In the case, the petitioner is seeking, among others, the dissolution of her 13 years marriage with her husband on the ground that “the union has broken down irretrievably”.She alleged that the husband, “is a man of unimaginable violence and cruelty, fetish, a serial wife beater and adulterer’The petitioner alleged that her husband deliberately poisoned her drink which led to losing her pregnancy.According to the petitioner, the union, consummated in 2011, under the native law and custom, as well as exchange of marital vows in a Church, has produced three children, ages, 12 years, 11 years and 2 years.She urged the court to dissolve the marriage, grant custody of the three children to her and restrain the husband from using thugs or any security agents to harass her. (NAN)
The Northern Youths Assembly has cautioned the National Assembly against passing the Tax Reforms Bill from the executive before the legislature.This is contained in an open letter to the lawmakers signed by the group’s President, Dr Ali Mohammed, and Secretary-General, Dr Garba Abduljafiz and made available to newsmen in Kano on Thursday.
The group said the bill, if passed into law, would not be in the interest of the people, particularly youths, urging for broader consultation on matters of that nature. The youths urged the National Assembly to concentrate on youth-friendly laws to safeguard the country’s future instead.“The youth are Nigeria’s future, “and our prosperity hinges on investments in education, skills development, and job creation.“As the largest political demography in the nation, youth must have a say in laws and policies that directly impact the country’s future.“We call for the creation of a special place at the centre, to allow the youths to contribute to solutions that may promote sustainable development, job creation, and economic empowerment,” the group said.The group urged the lawmakers to focus more on making laws that would improve investment climate and job creation.“We urge the National Assembly members to direct their resources and energy towards creating laws that would prioritise and encourage foreign investment.“The laws should encourage skills development and jobs creation for the teeming population of the youths, to improve measures that risk stifling the Nigerian economic opportunity.“We also urge them to stop complying with the dictates and advisory of the agents of destruction, IMF and World.“We must stay away from the trap of the IMF and World Bank, as they are all out to destroy our country through their ill-formulated policies and misleading advisory’’, the group said. (NAN)
The Defence Headquarters has confirmed the emergence of a new terrorists’ group known as ‘Lukarawas’ exacerbating insecurity in the North Western part of Nigeria.The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, made this known while briefing newsmen on the operations of the military on Thursday in Abuja.
Buba said that the new terror group emerged from the Republic of Niger after the coup that led to the breakdown of military cooperation between Nigeria and Niger. He said that the terrorists began incursion into northern parts of Sokoto and Kebbi States from the Niger Republic and Mali axis, particularly after the coup in Niger Republic.According to him, prior to the coup, there were joint border operations with Nigerien security forces which kept the terrorist at bay.“The terrorists took advantage of the gaps in cooperation between both countries and exploited difficult terrains to make incursions in remote areas in some North Western states to spread their ideology,” he said.Buba said that the group was accommodated by the locals who initially thought that the group meant well for them, adding that they failed to report the movement to the military and security agencies.He gave assurance that toops had sustained Imtelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) to degrade the terrorists.He added that the terror group had continued to take advantage of the vast under-governed areas to hide and evade troops as well as harass the locals.According to him, troops are locating them and eliminating the threat. (NAN)
FCT Court Urges Renovation of its Complex Burnt During EndSARS Protest
Share The FCT Customary Court, Dutse, Abuja has appealed to the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) to facilitate the renovation of...
Group Cautions NASS Against Tax Reforms Bill
Share The Northern Youths Assembly has cautioned the National Assembly against passing the Tax Reforms Bill from the executive before...
Ondo poll: Court Declines to Disqualify Edema as NNPP Candidate
ShareAn Ondo High Court in Akure on Thursday set aside the suit challenging the candidature of Mr Olugbenga Edema as...
Woman Bags 3 Years Imprisonment for N5.8m Visa Fraud
ShareA Kaduna Chief Magistrates’ Court, on Thursday sentenced a 40-year-old woman, Danielle Justin, to three years imprisonment for alleged N5.8m...
Millions of Children Experience Daily Domestic Violence in Schools, Homes Globally – WHO
Share Hundreds of millions of children and adolescents around the world face daily violence in their homes, schools, and elsewhere...
DHQ Confirms Emergence of new Terrorists’ Group in N/W
ShareThe Defence Headquarters has confirmed the emergence of a new terrorists’ group known as ‘Lukarawas’ exacerbating insecurity in the North...
Navy Arrests 3 Suspects with Stolen Crude Oil in A’Ibom
ShareThe Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base (FOB), Ibaka has arrested three suspected oil thieves carrying a boat containing crude oil...
50% of Maternal Deaths are from 174 LGAs in Nigeria – Pate
Share By Laide Akinboade, Abuja The Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, Coordinating Minister for Health & Social Welfare, on Wednesday, revealed...
Tinubu Gives Wike Marching Order to Develop, Grow Arts, Tourism Hubs in Abuja
ShareBy Laide Akinboade, Abuja The Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike on Wednesday said President Bola Tinubu has...
Stakeholders Call for More Women Inclusion in Politics in Nigeria
ShareBy Laide Akinboade, Abuja Stakeholders on Wednesday have identified that for Nigeria to achieve 35% Affirmative Action, it was imperative...