JUDICIARY
Rights Activist Decries Nigerian Migrants’ Detention in Italy without Trial
A lawyer and human rights campaigner, Mr Lucky Aghedo, has expressed worry at the detention without trial, of some Nigerian migrants in Italy.
Aghedo expressed the concern in a statement in Lagos on Saturday.
He said that some Nigerian and other African migrants had been in custody in Italy over the years without trial while others had been serving long sentences.
“According to an Italian local newspaper, Gazzetta di Reggio, report on the April 27, 2022, no fewer than 36 Nigerians of Niger Delta origin, were arrested on grounds of different allegations ranging from credit card fraud to cultism, termed mafia in Italy.
“Since this widely publicised mass and coordinated arrest, as others had previously been detained, the suspects have not been tried.
“Most unfortunately, these inmates lack a basic understanding of the language and resources for legal aid.
“Mafia cases are similar to terrorism charges, which carry lengthier sentences,” the lawyer said.
He said that while some elements of criminal involvement could not be denied for some of the detainees, others were likely innocent.
“These innocent parties have regular and permanent jobs, and they may have been roped in due to certain association; hence, these cases should be judged on individual merits rather than place all suspects and detainees under one straight jacket,” he argued.
The rights activist added that detaining those who might be complicit, for a prolonged period without trial, breached fundamental human rights.
He urged that in line with the European Convention on Human Rights, Article 5, Section 1 C and 3, the suspects should be tried speedily or released if there was nothing incriminating to warrant their detention.
“Prevention of crime is justification for arrest and restraint of liberties. However, there ought to be a structure for suspects to be tried conclusively within a reasonable time.”
According to Aghedo, some Nigerian migrants had also since been alleged to be carrying out cultism in Italy, flashing machetes and other dangerous weapons of intimidation.
The rights activist said that Italian Government ‘rained down on them with a heavy hand’.
Aghedo alleged that the system allowed some migrants residence permit, mostly through asylum process, but failed to create a systematic integration process, as obtainable in some other countries.
“Hence, many migrants resort to hawking, begging and other anti-social behaviours to the chagrin of host communities.
“One must take cognisance of the trauma and scars borne by many of the survivors of the dangerous crossings and trafficking.”
The lawyer said that the survivors ought to have received counselling or therapy to heal their damaged psychology.
“It is an issue that has exacerbated most of the anti-social behaviours.
“Furthermore, Africans love merriment. These young stars are excited to make it to Europe alive, seeing it as second chance in life.
“Then, they gluttonously enjoy every vice offering such as parties and drugs. They will do all this in excess, fuelled by their youthful exuberance.
“Also, being all predominantly from the same region, along with sharing the same culture and experiences, it could be argued that they congregate in a place where they enjoy things in common: be it food, music and many other.
“Hence, it will be a miscarriage of justice to assume that whenever these individuals congregate in a place, it must be for cultism,” he said.
The lawyer said that there should be efforts to separate the culprits from the innocent.
He added that the terrible experiences of the migrants, some whom crossed the Mediterranean on the same boat or were rescued from the same boat, engendered camaraderie in them.
‘’It is a bond that will be totally wrong to be labelled a cult.”
According to him, Italy had been very hospitable to migrants over the years, but overwhelming influx of migrants eroded the kindness.
“However, these kinds of arrests, long detention and constant control and profiling, have caused tremor and fear among many.
“Since the trial is slow, it seems that detainees are tempted to take plea bargain.
“The risk is that some, out of frustration, may accept it, still risking long sentences, as they are vulnerable and negotiating from a point of weaknesses.
“Most unfortunately, the majority of these suspects are the bread winners for their families both in Italy and back home in Africa,” he said.
Aghedo called on human rights organisations to work with Italian Government to find a solution to the problem, to ensure justice and equity.
“More importantly is to ensure that others eschew anti-social behaviours which hopefully, will encourage peace and harmony between the host country, the suspects and the entire migrant community.” (NAN)
The Court on Friday ruled in the Bank’s favour on all issues and granted all its prayers.
United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has secured a significant legal victory in its debt recovery proceedings against Stallion Group, following a court judgment which upheld the Bank’s position on all issues submitted for determination.
In a sweeping decision, delivered by by Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos on Friday, the Court granted all the reliefs sought by UBA, affirming the validity of the appointment of a Receiver/Manager, the enforceability of the mortgage security and the liability of the guarantors.
The Court observed that the Defendants did not dispute the existence of their indebtedness to the Bank but challenged the amount claimed. It further held that the reconciliation of accounts between the parties did not extinguish or negate the underlying indebtedness.
In a major affirmation of UBA’s enforcement rights, the Court upheld the appointment of the Receiver/Manager and confirmed his entitlement to take possession of the mortgaged property and seek appropriate protective orders.
The Court also dismissed objections raised by the 12th Defendant, holding that it had failed to establish any proprietary rights over the mortgaged property. Consequently, its consent was not required for the creation of the mortgage, and its objections were rejected.
Significantly, the Court restrained the Defendants from diverting receivables due to them from government agencies, thereby reinforcing the Bank’s ability to protect its recovery interests.
The judgment also affirmed the liability of the guarantors, strengthening UBA’s legal position in pursuing recovery of the outstanding obligations.
The decision represents a comprehensive victory for UBA, with the Court resolving all issues in the Bank’s favour and granting all the reliefs sought.
The ruling is particularly significant for the enforcement of creditors’ rights in Nigeria, underscoring the legal validity of properly constituted security arrangements and the authority of duly appointed receivers to enforce creditors’ interests.
It also reinforces the principle that disputes over the precise amount of an outstanding debt do not, by themselves, invalidate the underlying indebtedness or prevent creditors from exercising their lawful recovery rights.
The judgment marks a major milestone in UBA’s efforts to recover its exposure to Stallion Group and safeguard the interests of the Bank and its stakeholders.
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)
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