PRESS STATEMENT

A YEAR AFTER MY ONE MONTH INCARCERATION FOR “CONTEMPT OF COURT”: JUSTICE YET TO BE SERVED.

Exactly one year ago, precisely on July 27, 2022, I was remanded in the Correctional Centre (prison) for one month by the Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom State, His Lordship,… https://t.co/FVhQotu1cdtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Before I filed the motions, I wrote to the Hon. CJ and pleaded with My Lord to reassign the two cases which had the same facts. My Lord in her wisdom refused to accede to my request.

Part of the grounds of the two recusal applications was that my Lord had previously entered… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

BREAKING: Celebrity doctor and popular influencer, Dr. Olufunmilayo Ogunsanya, has just been vindicated and exonerated by UK’s Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service of allegation(s) of inappropriate conduct falsely leveled against him by his ex female friend, Dr. Bolanle Aseyan.



Dr. Olufunmilayo who had taken a temporary break from Twitter for personal reasons, had been dragged before the UK’s Metropolitan Police on false allegation of rape. He was cleared by the UK Police after investigation. The police found that the allegation were unsubstantiated.

NIGERIAN NAVY SHOULD RESPECT THE RULE OF LAW

On December 3, 2022, a policeman, ASP Abiona Hezekiah, was reportedly stabbed to death in the Satellite part of Lagos State by two Naval ratings, namely: Seaman Nnamani Anointing, and OSMTD Onyekachi Egwin, during an argument. The victim is said to have stopped the Naval ratings who were on a motorcycle when argument ensued.

The Lagos State Police Command arrested the two Naval ratings and suspects for investigation and prosecution for the murder of ASP Abiona Hezekiah.

Today is one of those days as a lawyer, that I’m proud of myself for taking the bold decision many years ago to abandon my studies at Science School, Ididep, in my SS2 Third Term to pursue my childhood dream and passion. The heinous efforts by a man who thought he could use his influence to make the police and the court to oppress a lady and make her spend days in Kirikiri was truncated today.

Godwin Emefiele corrupted the CBN and made nonsense of our exchange rates and forex market. The fiscal and monetary policies of the CBN under him did not help the country.

However, Mr Tinubu cannot remove him by virtue of Section 11 of the CBN Act without recourse to the Senate. I’m aware of a subsisting judgment of the Federal High Court in Sanusi’s case, where it was held that while the President cannot remove the CBN Governor unilaterally, he can exercise disciplinary control over him, which includes suspension. That judgment is the law on the issue.

PRESS RELEASE

Our law firm has taken up the case Ms. Olufunmilayo Brioluwa, pro bono. She was arrested on 14th May, 2023 and arraigned before the Magistrate Court, Eti-Osa the following day on a two count charge for allegedly assaulting a police officer at Ogombo in Ajah, Lagos. The public statement made by the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Ben Hundeyin, does not reflect the true account of events in this case. We will speak to the true facts of the case in court. We urge the police to exercise restraint in the matter.

It is easier said than done, talk is cheap. They should go ahead and pass the law first and let us see how it will survive the constitutional test.

Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution guarantees every citizen freedom from discrimination based on ethnic or religious identity.

https://twitter.com/gazettengr/status/1666710522866159616

Parliament cannot pass a law with Yoruba clearly written on it with the intention of discriminating against non-Yoruba people in Lagos. That will be nonsensical and the court will strike it down. In any event, if it’s about indigeneship, then the basis has to be Lagos as a State.

GBAJABIAMILA’S APPOINTMENT AS TINUBU’S CHIEF OF STAFF IS A CONSTITUTIONAL ABERRATION

The appointment of the current Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, as the Chief of Staff to the President by Mr Bola Tinubu is a constitutional aberration. Nigeria operates a constitutional democracy based on the principle of separation of powers. Sections 4, 5 and 6 of the 1999 Constitution vest the legislative, executive and judicial powers of the Federation in the National Assembly, President and established Courts respectively.

People should not panic over objections to admissibility of documents by INEC at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal. I’m not surprised by INEC’s roguish and embarrassing attitude. These are public documents duly certified. The Court will act on them. It is a distraction. Ordinarily, INEC being the maker of the documents which they’ve certified, that is Form EC8 series (polling unit & collation results), they’re not supposed to object to their admissibility.

I’ve always said that INEC’s neutrality is a mirage, especially in electoral litigations.

I was remanded in prison for raising issues against the expulsion of a journalist from court.

Prior to March 2018, lawyers were not allowed to carry phones inside the Federal High Court, Abuja. Lawyers were compelled to surrender their phones with the security at the entrance. Lawyers were given tags for identification and collection of their phones when exiting the court.

I was the one who challenged the obnoxious policy through a petition to the then Chief Judge of the Federal High Court. The Hon. Chief Judge wrote to me that he will look into it.

Based on this Judgment Order, this case was filed on the 11th day of May, 2023.

Alex Otti emerged as the gubernatorial candidate of LP during primaries held in June 2022.

Section 285 of the Constitution states that all pre-election matters must be filed within 14 days of event. A case relating to election is either a pre-election matter or a post election matter (election petition).

If the case filed by Ibrahim Haruna Ibrahim at the Federal High Court in Kano was/is a pre-election matter, it should have been filed within 14 days of the primaries.

HOW I LOST MY QUOTE TO OKADIGBO

@realFFK was the first person to falsely credit my popular quote to Okadigbo. Despite the fact that I’ve provided evidence to prove that the very popular quote is mine, and not Okadigbo’s, people are still crediting it falsely to the late sage. Fani-Kayode started this madness, and @DailyPostNGR went to town with it. There’s no day that I don’t get tagged by conscientious citizens who have been struggling to correct those that wrongly attribute it to Okadigbo.

We do not respect intellectual property in this country.

Reports that @PeterObi in his election petition is not seeking to be declared the winner of the election is false and misleading. I’ve seen a copy of the petition. Peter Obi has prayed that he should be declared the winner. The law allows a petitioner to seek alternative reliefs. That is what Peter Obi and Labour Party have done in their petition before the Court of Appeal. They are seeking reliefs in the alternative; either that he be declared as the winner having scored majority of lawful votes cast, or that the entire election be nullified.

The Court of Appeal has granted INEC permission to reconfigure BVAS. The Court of Appeal granted INEC’s request because the electoral body said all data in BVAS machines would be transferred to a back end server before they are reconfigured and will not be tampered with.

By virtue of Section 60 (5) of the Electoral Act 2022 and Clause 38 of the Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Election, 2022, presiding officers must transmit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal on completion of elections. Failure to comply is a criminal offence. A presiding officer that violates this requirement is liable on conviction to a fine of N500,000 or imprisonment for a term not less than six months. This is how important the issue of electronic transmission of results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal is under the law.

I agree with the objection filed by the A.G.F, Malami SAN, challenging the competence of the suit filed by Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara States on the new Naira notes. The Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction under Section 232 of the Constitution shouldn’t be invoked in this case. We shouldn’t bastardize the legal system due to political expediency. For the Supreme Court to have original jurisdiction, there must be a dispute between the three States and the Federation; not a dispute between the States and the Federal Government. What’s the dispute here?

The main issue is, the purported fresh primary of June 9, 2022 that the APC claimed it conducted where Lawan is said to have emerged, was it done in compliance with the provisions of Sections 82 and 84 of the Electoral Act as regards 21 days notice to INEC and monitoring by INEC? Let’s even leave the argument about the mode of commencement for a second; whether Machina was right to commence his suit by Originating Summons instead of Writ of Summons.

Any law that empowers the government to confiscate and/ or auction the vehicle or other property of a citizen for an alleged offense(s), without fair hearing and due process is unconstitutional and void. Such a law offends the fundamental rights to fair hearing and property. The court of law will declare such a law inconsistent with the provisions of 36 and 43 of the Constitution which guarantees the rights of every person to fair hearing and ownership of property, respectively. Lagos State Government claims that Mobile Courts permitted the auctions.

In Nigeria, laws are weak with the strong, and strong with the weak. The political elites are the major violators of traffic laws. They move around with their convoys and armed escorts. They have little respect for other road users. But vehicles of ‘common people’ are auctioned. The law that empowers auctioning of vehicles of traffic offenders in Lagos State is draconian. I agree that traffic violators, especially in a State like Lagos, should be punished. It is however extreme to go as far as auctioning vehicles. It is not the vehicle that drove itself.

ENOBONG PHILIP EYOREN: THE NCS OFFICER WHO TORTURED ME AND HIS THREAT TO “FINISH ME”

I did not offend Enobong Phillip Eyoren, also known as Gideon Eyoren and goes by the Facebook name Kasiano Kasiano in anyway. Eyoren is an Assistant Superintendent 1; a two star officer in the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) working at the Ikot Ekpene Medium Custodial Centre as a Correctional Officer (warder). He is an indigene of Ikot Nko, Ididep, in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

The moment My Lord entered the Courtroom, His Lordship ordered the orderly attached to the court to go out and bring the armed policemen inside the courtroom. I started feeling that there was going to be trouble. After the Premium Times reporter was sent out, I raised the issue. I applied to the Court to ask the armed policemen with AK47 to leave the courtroom, that it was not proper and that I felt extremely unsafe and uncomfortable. My Lord then started writing, I thought it was going to be a ruling on my application to excuse the officers.