BREAKING NEWS: Order Buratai to produce Kanu dead or alive, Kanu’s lawyers asks court

• A team of lawyers representing the embattled leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, ‎IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to compel the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, to produce their client in court dead or alive.

Kanu’s lawyers, led by Mr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor, told the court that they have not seen or heard from their client since September 14 when the “Nigerian Army invaded the Applicant’s house on a murderous raid, where life and mortar bullets were fired on unarmed and defenseless populace, leaving 28 persons dead and abducting many”. 

Pursuant to section 40 of the Federal High Court Act, F12, LFN 2005 and section 6(6) (1) (4) of the 1999 constitution, as amended, Kanu’s lawyers applied for “an order of Habeas Corpus ad subjiciendum, commanding the Respondent, to produce the Applicant in Court”. 

The lawyers, in the suit that has Kanu as the Applicant and Buratai as Respondent, told the court that their request was predicated on the following grounds: “That the Applicant is the Leader of th IPOB, a group largely made up of People from South-Eastern part of the Country, mostly Biafra extraction; who are at all times materials lawfully exercising their constitutionally guaranteed rights to self determination, freedom of Association and peaceful Assembly. 

“The Applicant was arrested on the 14th day of October, 2015 and consequently arraigned in Court along other Defendants on the 20th day of January, 2016, on 11 (Eleven) Count charge of Treasonable felony, conspiracy to Commit treasonable felony, belonging to an unlawful society, importation of goods, publication of libelous matters, etc. Six out of this eleven count charge had since the 28th day of March 2017, been struck out by the Court, including allegation of belonging to an unlawful Society. 

“The Applicant was granted bail on the 25th day of April, 2017, by His Lordship Hon, Justice Binta Nyanko. The Applicant is still enjoying the bail granted him by the Court seized of the matter, when the Prosecution filed an application on the 25th day of August 2017, requesting the Court to revoke the bail granted the Applicant. e. Hearing on the matter is slated to commence on the 17th day of October, 2017. 

“On the 12th September, 2017, the Nigeria Military Soldiers acting under express command handed down by the Respondent, violently invaded the Applicant’s home in Afara-ukwu Ibeku, Umuahia Abia State, wherein scores of his relative were brutally wounded and many killed. 

“On 14th day of September, 2017, the Nigerian Military led by Soldiers of the Nigerian Army invaded the Applicant’s house on a murderous raid, where life and mortar bullets were fired on unarmed and defenseless populace, leaving 28 persons dead and abducting many. 

“The Applicant who was in the house during this bloody onslaught by the Soldiers, has not been heard from or seen after this bloody attack in his home by the Agents of the Respondent since the 14th day of September 2017. 

“That the invading Soldiers in their desperate bid to ensure that the Applicant is caught in the attack climbed stairs to his bedroom upstairs to shot him; walls of his bedroom were riddled with bullets. j.

The invading Soldiers who had direct contact with the Applicant on this fateful day (14th day of September 2017) should be in a position to produce the Applicant before the court. It is either the Respondent’s rampaging Soldiers abducted the Applicant during this raid or must have killed him in the process. 

“Section 40 of the Federal High Court Act empowers this Court to Order that a Writ of Habeas Corpus ad Subjiciendum; (A Writ directed to someone detaining another person and commanding that the detainee be brought to Court) be issued on the Respondent, to produce the Applicant in Court, particularly now his substantive criminal trial is coming up on the 17th day of October, 2017”. 

They maintained that the Court was vested with inherent powers Under Section 6(6) (a)- (d) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as (Amended 2011) to entertain the application and grant reliefs sought herein. 

Besides, in a supporting affidavit that was deposed by one Prince Mandela Umegborogu, he told the court that he was told by Kanu’s younger brother, Emmanuel, that on September 12, “Soldiers of Nigerian Army, numbering about 200 ( two hundred) fully armed to the teeth invaded the residential home of the Applicant in Afarauwku- Ibeku, Umuahia, in Abia State”. 

“That the invading Soldiers were deployed to the South-Eastern part of the Country by the Respondent in a covert operation tagged Operation Python dance II (Egwu eke II), an exercise exclusively under the Respondent’s command and control. 

“That the Soldiers who also drove in a purpose-built sophisticated armored personnel carrier, fired live bullets on the relatives of the Applicant, leaving scores brutally wounded, and arrested many. 

“That the said Military deployment to the South-East was approved, without any history of arms resistance by the Applicant’s members or combatant attacks on Military personnel and installation from the civilian populace. 

“That during the bloody attack/invasion of the Applicant’s home, scores were killed and others forced to abandon their sleep and run for cover in nearby bushes, which include nursing mothers, pregnant women, children and the aged. that on that same day, September 12, dozens of supporters of the Applicant who were on a courtesy visit to him, were also barricaded at Isialangwa and tortured on the same day. “That the Applicant was emotionally traumatized and visibly tortured on account of heavy causalities recorded in this unprovoked attack from the invading Soldiers. 

“That on September 14, the Nigerian Soldiers invaded the Applicant’s home for the second time, unfortunately on a brutal but murderous raid that left 28 (twenty eight) persons dead, and over 48 (forty eight) arrested and taken away to an unknown destination. 

“That the Applicant was sitting right inside his bedroom when the Soldiers invaded his home. “That the Soldiers in their desperate efforts to ensure that the Applicant who is their main target is gunned down, climbed the stairs to his bedroom upstairs to shot him. 

“That the wall of the Applicant’s bedroom is riddled with bullets holes till date. Attached and marked as Exhibits EK1, EK2, EK3, EK4, EK5 EK6, EK7 and EK8 are photographs showing with sufficient clarity the impacts of this assault on the Applicant’s home. 

“That the by virtue of this contact the soldiers had with the Applicant in his room on this 14th day of September 2017, the soldiers must know where the Applicant is, his fate and state of health”. He told the court that “the rampaging Soldiers”, busted into Kanu’s room in the course of the “bloody attack and shoot at everything on sight, including living objects”. 

Attached and variously marked Exhibits EK9, EK10, EK11, EK12, EK13 and EK14, in the suit, were photographs and video footage the deponent said was evidence of the “dastardly attack on the home of the Applicant, including the bullets holes in his bedroom”. 

He said: “That the trigger happy Soldiers shot sporadically into the air, for about forty minutes, before forcing their way into the Applicant’s house. “That the Applicant only managed to alert his Lawyer- Bar Ifeanyi Ejiofor on the war-like deafening sounds of guns, being fired into the air, which shooting was targeted at the unarmed and defenseless members of the Applicant’s household, and IPOB members who were on a visit to the Applicant’s house. 

“That his Lawyer Bar. Ifeanyi Ejiofor quickly issued a statement drawing the attention of the world to the bloody attack going on in the Applicant’s house, which statement was promptly published by reputable online media houses”. According to the affidavit, the soldiers took away many dead bodies and arrested over 48 persons. 

Kanu’s lawyers told the court that search so far conducted by the Applicant’s siblings had not been yielded any fruit, as the Applicant is still missing, adding that the palace of their aged father, housing the Applicant’s apartment, inclusive of the Applicant’s building, was shattered with mortar bullets. 

They told the court that they have made several entreaties to the Respondent to direct his Soldiers to release the Applicant or his body for a befitting burial if he was killed in the onslaught, saying their effort has not yielded fruit. According to them, Kanu was eagerly preparing to appear in court for his trial on October 17, before his house was invaded by soldiers, adding that he was never invited by any security Agency to respon to any criminal allegation, “before this unprovoked bloody assault in his home”. 

The affidavit further read: “That the murderous raid in the home of the Applicant is targeted at eliminating him and not to arrest him. “That if the intention of the Respondent was to arrest the Applicant, they would have quietly done that without killing unarmed and defenseless civilian populace found in the Applicant’s house. 

“That the Applicant and the members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) are non-violent and unarmed group, agitating for their right to self determination. “That the IPOB do not carry arms neither are they into any form of armed struggle, and do not have history of violence. 

That the present situation is serious, thus requiring the immediate intervention of this Honourable Court. “That unless this Honourable Court intervenes, and command the Respondent or its agents, privies, howsoever called, to produce the Applicant in Court they will still continue to keep the Applicant, without allowing him access to his family members and Solicitors”, it read.

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SSS Official Has Revealed How They Investigated, Charged Justice Ademola For Corruption, Arms Possession

• A witness in the ongoing trial of a Federal High Court judge, Adeniyi Ademola, has explained how the State Security Service, SSS, conducted its investigations before charges were drawn against the defendants.

• Mr. Ademola is facing trial alongside his wife, Olubowale, who is the immediate past Head of Service of Lagos State, and Joe Agi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

  

  Justice Adeniyi Ademola and wife in court

  
  
  
  The witness, Babatunde Adepoju, an SSS official who led the investigations into the alleged offenses committed by the defendants, said he was assigned to the case after a search warrant was executed at the residence of the defendant in October.
  
  Mr. Adepoju explained that he was assigned to investigate the matter following the recoveries made during the search at the residence of the defendants, and other allegations, including those contained in a petition written against Mr. Ademola.
  
  “There was also the allegation that the judge used his position as an FHC judge and his close ties with Senator Ahmed Tinubu to influence the appointment of his wife as head of service, Lagos State.
  
  “My duty was also to conduct follow-up investigations as regards the monetary recoveries in Justice Ademola’s apartment,” said Mr. Adepoju, who described himself as a well-read investigative officer.
  
  He, however, added that Mr. Ademola denied influencing his wife’s appointment, adding that the judge explained that his wife was the most senior permanent secretary in Lagos State at the time of her appointment.
  
  Mr. Adepoju told the court that the recoveries made from Mr. Ademola’s residence included local and foreign currencies in hundreds of thousands, as well as two firearms belonging to Mr. Ademola and another judge, A.R. Mohammed.
  
  According to Mr. Adepoju, the SSS also employed a ballistician who checked the rifles found at the residence of Mr. Ademola during the search in October.
  
  After checking the firearms, Mr. Adepoju said the guns were of the category of prohibited ammunition which could only be licensed at the discretion of the President of the country.
  
  [Nigerian_SSS]
  
  He added that although Mr. Ademola had confirmed that the guns, which had two different licenses, (one for himself and the other for Mr. Mohammed), belonged to the two judges, Mr. Mohammed denied ownership of the rifle.
  
  The SSS operative further said there were also allegations of bribery against the first defendant, which according to his principal, influenced the order by the defendant for the release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, and former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.
  
  Mr. Adepoju also told the court that of particular reference in his investigation was a set of payments made in three tranches to the account of Mrs. Ademola shortly before certain court orders were made by Mr. Ademola, in a case involving a client of Mr. Agi.
  
  “In my further investigation on the connection between Mrs. Ademola and Agi, I tried to establish if Barr. Agi had cases pending or concluded before Justice Ademola, and I discovered that they actually had cases in court,” he said.
  
  “Two among the cases that raised eyebrows were of AMCON vs. FRN and Friday Upkong vs. Chief of Naval Staff. These two cases involved huge sums of money.
  
  “Both cases emanated from Calabar, Cross-River State, Justice Ademola’s previous posting. In the AMCON case, three garnishee orders were granted by Justice Ademola in favor of Joe Agi’s client, which is Linas International Limited”.
  
  Speaking further, Mr. Adepoju explained how his department arrived at the allegation that Mr. Agi had paid N30 million into the account of Mr. Ademola to influence a judgment.
  
  The witness said the money was paid by two maritime businessmen, Ken Hubert and Bassey Bassey. According to the witness, the men paid the sum of $150, 000 which was later converted to naira by Mr. Agi to the tune of N37 million.
  
  “According to Joe Agi, the conversion rate was N37 million, but he remitted N30 million to Ms. Olubowale’s account”, the witness stated.
  
  During cross-examination, however, Mr. Adepoju said the allegations of influencing the appointment of Mrs. Ademola, made against her husband was a verbal brief given to him by his superior; adding that as an investigative officer, he has the discretion to either accept the brief or refuse it, based on evidence at his disposal.
  
  In response to Mr. Adepoju’s statement on influencing Mrs. Ademola’s appointment, the defense lawyer asked whether he had any such evidence and he responded in the negative.
  
  Mr. Adepoju also said he did not charge Mr. Ademola based on the allegations contained in the cited petition against him due to the insufficiency of evidence.
  
  “I am trained to go through any fact-finding quest with an objective mind. These are mere allegations subject to be confirmed or refuted, based on supporting documents,” he answered.
  
  Asked whether he found any available evidence incriminating Mr. Ademola with allegations of bribery in Messrs. Dasuki and Kanu’s cases, the witness answered in the negative.
  
  He also said he could not provide a link between the first defendant and any case in court involving the maritime businessmen, Messrs. Hubert and Bassey, who he had said paid $150, 000 to Mrs. Ademola’s account.
  
  Mr. Adepoju also answered in the negative when asked if there was a link between the case involving Friday Ukpong and the maritime businessmen.
  
  Reading through a document provided by the defense counsel, Mr. Adepoju confirmed that the money was paid by the businessmen, shortly before a wedding of Mr. Ademola’s daughter.
  
  Mr. Adepoju also confirmed that the ballistician whose report on the rifles were recorded was invited in January, months after the case was filed.
  
  He, however, added that the second ballistician was invited because the Service was not satisfied with the investigation first conducted by the police.
  

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Court Adjourns Arraignment Of Lekki Garden Boss For Conspiracy And Stealing

• A Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos today set a new date of March 14, 2017 for the arraignment of Richard Nyonh, the chief executive of Lekki Garden Estate Limited, the firm itself as well as two others. 

• The arraignment, scheduled to take part today before Justice Idris Mohammed, was foiled as the accused persons were absent when the case was called up.

Richard Nyonh, the chief executive of Lekki Garden Estate Limited

Last year, the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) had filed a three-count criminal charge of conspiracy and stealing against Mr. Nyonh, his company, Lekki Garden Estate Limited, and two others before a Federal High Court in Lagos, south west Nigeria. That charge listed Christiana Amida and Blessing Essien as the other accused persons.

The case alleged that Mr. Nyonh and the other accused persons, on or about April 22, 2014, conspired to steal one HP Mini laptop 320GB and seven pairs of women’s shoes valued at N184, 500. The alleged crimes took place at Lekki Garden Estate Limited, located at Plot 1, Lekki Garden Estate Road in Olokonla district. The accused persons also allegedly stole N550, 300 in cash as well as a cheque slip worth N502, 000.

In the case, filed by Susan Ezema, a Superintendent of Police, the Special Fraud Unit also alleged that the accused persons, without a court order or any lawful excuse, dispossessed one Excellence Nora Eneh, of a Hyundai Accent saloon car with license plate number LSU 552 BR. The vehicle was an official car allocated to Ms. Eneh, a former employee of Lekki Garden limited.   

The alleged offenses violated sections 516, 383 and 388, punishable under section 390(9) of the Criminal Code Act Cap C38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

None of the accused persons was present in court at the last adjourned date of December 12, 2016. As a result, Justice Mohammed adjourned the arraignment till today and ordered that hearing notices should be issued to the accused persons. Their absence from court today was unexplained.

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Protesters Storm Supreme Court, Demand Accused Judges Step Down

•  The placard-carrying protesters, who stormed the court as early as 8 a.m., demanded that all judges arrested by the Department of State Security (DSS) in connection with corruption issues step down pending the outcome of the trial.

A group of protesters under the aegis of The Forum of Non-Governmental Organisations In Nigeria (FNGOI) today marched on the nation’s Supreme Court in Abuja calling on the National Judicial Council to prevail upon all seven members of the bench accused of corruption to step down immediately.

The placard-carrying protesters, who stormed the court as early as 8a.m., demanded that all judges arrested by the Department of State Security (DSS) in connection with corruption issues step down pending the outcome of the trial.

Protester

The group also said that it wanted to make it clear that only those judges that have been accused of unethical conduct, and not the entire judicial arm of the government, is on trial.

The group accused the apex judicial body of trying to incite the masses against the government with the impression that the independence of the judiciary is under threat.  Their placards read messages such as, "Stop Corruption Before It Stops You"; "No Untouchable Judges and Justices"; "Sanitization of Judiciary Is Task That Must Be Done"; "Judges Under Investigation Must Step Down".

Anti-Corruption Team

The group also said that it wanted to make it clear that only those judges that have been accused of unethical conduct, and not the entire judicial arm of the government, is on trial.

The group accused the apex judicial body of trying to incite the masses against the government with the impression that the independence of the judiciary is under threat.  Their placards read messages such as, "Stop Corruption Before It Stops You"; "No Untouchable Judges and Justices"; "Sanitization of Judiciary Is Task That Must Be Done"; "Judges Under Investigation Must Step Down".

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