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Why Court Sacks Ibaji APC Lawmaker Atule Egbunu

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The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Friday, ordered the sack of a lawmaker representing Ibaji Constituency of Kogi, Atule Egbunu, on the ground of unlawful nomination by his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). push({});

Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a judgment, declared Daniel Enefola of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the lawmaker for the constituency, having polled 4, 564 votes in the Dec. 5, 2020 State House of Assembly by-election.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Egbunu was declared winner of the election having scored the highest votes of 8, 515 votes.

Joseph Enemona, one of the aspirants in the APC State House of Assembly primary, had instituted the suit against the party and four others.

Enemona, who was the plaintiff, had challenged the legality of the Sept. 3, 2020 primary election claimed to have been conducted by his party.

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He averred that his party unlawfully excluded six other aspirants from the primary election and also did not allow delegates to vote at the poll.

The plaintiff further asserted that while the law stipulated that the primary election be conducted at the party secretariat in Onyedega, the APC officials allegedly conducted the purported primary election in a mall.

He further contended that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was not given 21 days’ notice before the purported primary election and as required by Section 85 of Electoral Act, 2010.

The plaintiff further hinged his case on the ground that while the APC guidelines stipulated direct primary election, the APC officials manipulated the guidelines and purportedly used indirect system to pick the purported candidate and demanded that the purported nomination of Egbunu be voided and another primary election be conducted.

However, Justice Ekwo, after reviewing submissions by parties in the matter, agreed that the APC did not conduct a primary election known to law.

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The judge held that while seven aspirants were to participate in the primary election, the party unlawfully maneuvered the system and made the participation for a single candidate.

He also held that the APC ran foul of the law by conducting the purported primary election outside the party secretariat as required by law.

Ekwo also faulted the purported substitution done between Matthew Oguche and Atule Egbunu on the ground that Oguche was not one of the legitimate aspirant before the election.

The judge, therefore, declared that the purported APC primary election as illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional and subsequently set it aside.

Justice Ekwo said that since the time for primary and nomination had lapsed, the candidate who came second in the Dec. 5, 2020 bye-election should be inaugurated as the lawmaker for Ibaji Constituency.

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Abdulrahman Obaje
Abdulrahman Obaje
Prince Abdulrahman Obaje is a Media, Information and Computer Technology Consultant. A quintessential Journalist, online marketer, social media strategist, Mathematician and Computer Scientist is based in Abuja, Nigeria. He is the Founder and the Publisher of The Informavores!. You can reach me on +234 805 939 5252 or send i-witness report directly to me on news@informavores.com.ng.
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Alleged 80.2 Billion Fraud: EFCC May Loose Case Against Yahaya Bello – Ambassador Danjuma

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A  Chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Ambassador Samuel A. Dajuma
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Chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Ambassador Samuel Dajuma, has said the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, (EFCC) may lose the case of Fraud against the Kogi State Ex-Governor, Yahaya Bello. push({});

Danjuma assert this in an exclusive media chat with the Informavores in Niger State, Nigeria, saying that the politically-motivated case may not favour the anti-graft agency as it started on a wrong foot.

He said, “The issue with the EFCC is political-motivated, why did I say political-motivated? Previously, we have three formal Governors, I would name them, the former governor of Zamfara State, Matawalle who is now the Minister of State for Defence, we have Yari who is also a former Governor of Zamfara State and we have Odili of River state which are all enjoying this court order from being prosecuted. ”

“Now His Excellency, Adoza Yahaya Bello has seek the leave of the court to enforce his fundamental human right and the EFCC was duly served. The EFCC went to the court of Appeal to challenge that. So, why the rush? Why the EFCC is in a hurry to arrest his Excellency? ”

“Like I have always said, if you vacate that court order, I give you one hour, his Excellency Adoza Yahaya Bello will make himself available at the EFCC office. ”

“But the thing is that even the EFCC has’nt even officially invited him, neither is any summon and in that judgement what did the court said? The court said that the EFCC with the leave of the court of competent jurisdiction can arraign him not arrest him therefore, he shouldn’t be arrested but he can be arraigned. ”

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“So, I don’t know why we are having this conflict and a lot of lawyer, SAN and even the former MBA chairman has come out to say that the EFCC goofed by laying the siege at Yahaya Bello’s Abuja residence last week Wednesday. ”

“So the EFCC knows what to do. The EFCC is a law enforcement agency and I don’t expect a law enforcement agency to be the one to break the law. So, when EFCC is ready they should serve the surmon and by then they would have vacate the order of the court. But until then, his Excellency is bound by that order not to appear before EFCC. ”

He further said that, “I always say that the minute I saw the EFCC chairman I was happy. For the first time, we have someone who was a lawyer who knows the law heading the organisation. So, I felt EFCC should not be doing by going after presumed suspect just for media trial. They would have done the proper investigation. ”

“And now look at what happened with the case of the former Attorney General of the Federation, Adoke. EFCC lost that case because even in court EFCC attested that they do not have enough evidence to prosecute him and exactly what the same thing is going to happen because the Kogi State Government has come out to tell the EFCC that our money is not missing. and these are the people that is supposed to fashion you with the said document for you to prosecute your case and if they have come to say their money is not missing I don’t understand how EFCC will want to go to court and be able to win this case. ”

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“At the beginning of the case what I expect the EFCC to do was to do a proper investigation and when they have their fact, they can now go after the former Governor but as it stands the EFCC has shot their selves by the leg by what they are doing. It is time for the EFCC to come back home sit down and do proper investigation, get the fact and stop this media trial once and for all. ” he said.

meanwhile, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered that the charges of alleged N80 billion fraud filed by the Economic and Finacncial Crime Commission against the ex-governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Adoza Bello, be served through his lawyer, Abdulwahab Mohammed.

The Judge issued the order on Tuesday April 23rd, 2024 while delivering a ruling in an application filed by the anti-graft agency, for substituted service on Bello.

Although Abdulwahab Mohammed initially declined to accept the charges and proof of evidence saying that a junior lawyer in his team, AI Musa be the one to accept the charges on behalf of the former governor, Justice Nwite rejected the plea by the senior lawyer and compelled him to do so.

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At today’s proceedings, Yahaya Bello was again not in court but represented by his lawyer.

Justice Nwite had last week issued a bench warrant against Bello following an application to that effect by EFCC.

The EFCC subsequently declared the former governor wanted for his persistent absence in court and evading the criminal charges on him.

Informavores recalls that the EFCC had on Wednesday April 16th, 2024 laid siege on the embattled ex-governor’s, Abuja residence in a bid to arrest him.

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Abdulrahman Obaje
Abdulrahman Obaje
Prince Abdulrahman Obaje is a Media, Information and Computer Technology Consultant. A quintessential Journalist, online marketer, social media strategist, Mathematician and Computer Scientist is based in Abuja, Nigeria. He is the Founder and the Publisher of The Informavores!. You can reach me on +234 805 939 5252 or send i-witness report directly to me on news@informavores.com.ng.
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Another Massive Plan By APC To Rig Kogi Election Uncovered!

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Massive Plan To Rig Kogi Election Uncovered
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Another massive plan by the APC (All Progressive Congress) to rig the upcoming election in Kogi State has been uncovered.

The plan was uncovered in an audio recording recorded in Igala language, that is widely circulated and received by the Informavores!

The message roughly translated is as follows:

“I thank you all and may the almighty God bless us all. adsbygoogle || []).push({}); adsbygoogle || []).push({}); I am here to talk to you this evening amd thank you for all your efforts as you are listening to me from where ever you are listening to me, please forward this message so that every igala will hear what I am saying this evening.”

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“As I am talking to you, it is not up to 2 minutes that I finished calling to Ankpa. It is a calling between me and the coordinator. He said that what he wanted to tell me before I called him is that the presiding officers this afternoon hinted him and that he is going to confide in me that everybody should be ready.”

“That during the upcoming voting, their plan is that they would just thumb print without capturing, therefore, when the voting is in excess without capturing(photograph), they would then cancel the polling unit. That is what he just told me. And I said I would make sure that this information is circulated among everybody online this night.”

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“It is the Presiding officer that told him this afternoon and he is relaying it to me to make sure that I tell everybody that this is the plan of APC in Ankpa where they are going to vote in Ankpa. That they will photograph, so that all the votings in Ankpa will not count.”

“This is the message that reached me this night and I said I would tell people on air. Please forward this message so that everybody would here. Let us be at alert and make sure that our votes count, let us monitor the BVAS. “

“Thank you all and God bless you all.”, it concluded.

Off season elections is scheduled to take place in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States. Coming November 11th, 2023. 

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Find the audio recording below.

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PEPC: PDP Atiku Appears As Parties Set To Adopt Written Addresses

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PDP Atiku at the Presidential Election Petition Court
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As the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and other parties were set to adopt their final written addresses, the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, was at the Presidential Election Petition Court, (PEPC) on Tuesday 1st August 2023 . adsbygoogle || []).push({}); adsbygoogle || []).push({});
 
The  Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-member panel of the court had on the last adjourned date directed parties to prepare their final briefs of argument and appear before it to adopt .
 
The adoption of final addresses is the precursor to fixing a date for judgment in the petition of Atiku and the PDP challenging the outcome of the Feb. 25 presidential election.
 
The court, in a notice  to the parties, invited them to adopt their written address with respect to the petition filed against President Bola Tinubu and Vice -President Kashim Shettima, praying the court to nullify their election.
 
recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), had on March 1, announced that Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress, (APC), won the presidential election  ahead of 17 other candidates that participated in the contest.
 
It declared that Tinubu scored 8,794,726 votes to defeat the two major contenders,  Atiku of the PDP, who came second with 6,984,520 votes, and Mr Peter  Obi of the Labour Party, who came third with 6,101,533 votes.
 
However, dissatisfied with the outcome of the election, both Atiku and Obi approached the court to invalidate the result.
 
The duo, in their separate petitions, claimed that they won the presidential poll, even as they challenged Tinubu’s eligibility to contest the election.
 
The petitioners are praying the court to nullify the election and order a fresh presidential election, with the exclusion of President Tinubu whom they argued was ab-initio, not qualified to participate.
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