…. alleges attempt to make mockery of judicial system

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, on Wednesday, decried what he termed as unpalatable cocktail of misleading and conflicting judgements emanating from courts of coordinate jurisdictions in the country.

He said the National Judicial Council, NJC, has already activated the process that would ensure that errant judges are made to face the consequence of their “despicable and odious conduct.”

Speaking shortly after he inaugurated 22 judges into the Court of Appeal Bench, the CJN, lamented that the avalanche of frivolous interlocutory orders emanating from the various courts, have continued to make a mockery of the judicial system.

He said: “I have made it known at different fora that we have been treated to an unpalatable cocktail of misleading and conflicting judgments as well as frivolous interlocutory orders emanating from courts of coordinate jurisdictions, which have literally attempted to make a mockery of our judicial system and flagrantly desecrate the revered Temple of Justice.

“Several cases of such abound across the length and breadth of the country. This is, largely, an embarrassment to our jurisprudence, and we will never handle it with levity.

“Punitive measures must definitely be meted out to such erring Judges. We have already activated the process of reining-in such errant Judges with a view to making them face the consequence of their despicable and odious conduct.

“As Judicial Officers, we have to continually remind ourselves the fact that we are not occupying our respective positions to serve ourselves, but the Nigerian masses; and the best way we can serve them is by doing what will make them feel safe in our hands and also trust us to always deliver the right judgments that will not be tainted by sentiments, emotions or other clandestine considerations.”

Justice Ariwoola, who also swore in 12 legal practitioners that were recently appointed as judges of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court, implored the new judicial officers to always abide by their oath of office.

He described as unprecedented, the number of Justices that were elevated to the bench of the appellate court, noting that the last time such large number of judicial officers were inaugurated, was on June 28, when the court got 18 Justices at the same time.

“Today’s ceremony is an indication of the perilous times that we are currently in, which has resulted in an upsurge in litigation.

“Several unfathomable crimes are being committed in the country, aside from the usual political matters that have made litigation’s to go on alarming rise.

“No court in the land is spared of this  litigation deluge, as it were. We are constantly on our toes and the dockets are ever increasing in response to the challenges of the time.

“This underscores the fact that Nigeria is fast emerging as a front-line crime-infested country that we all have to urgently curtail,” the CJN stated.

He said the enormous task of cleaning the Augean stable rests squarely on the Justices.

“Your Lordships, so, you must hastily fasten your belt and roll up your sleeves to face the challenges head-on.

“In other words, you should hit the ground speeding at a supersonic velocity; and not just running. You must redouble your pace to catch up with the expectations of the sprawling community of litigants.

“As judicial officers, you have a divine mandate on earth that you must discharge with unveiled honesty and sincerity. You must give good account of yourselves to justify your elevation to the Court of Appeal.

“In the next couple of months, we shall be having two governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States, respectively.

“As usual, the courts will be besieged with Plethora of petitions. It is our statutory duty to hear all matters that come before us and adjudicate according to the laws of the land.

“We must not falter; and we must not tread the path of infamy. Yes, it is true that we cannot please everyone through our actions and work, but with the right application of the law and the Constitution of the land, which we all have collectively pledged to uphold, we can go a long way to do those things that our conscience will be very proud of; and the generality of the Nigerian citizens will equally be happy about.

“Every position we attain in life always avails us that unique opportunity to do something novel and impactful, especially if there was any previous act of wrongdoing or misapplication of discretion.

“With Your Lordships’ elevation to the higher Bench today, you have to be very mindful of the enormous confidence the public is now reposing in you vis-a-vis their expectations.

“Like we often say, to whom much is given, much is expected. Your Lordships must not rest on your oars, as the onus now lies more heavily on you to discharge your judicial duties more dispassionately, discretionally, and transparently.

“So, you must, individually and collectively, guide your loins to do more to earn lasting trust and integrity.

“Your conduct and disposition must tally with the yearnings and aspirations of the generality of the citizenry,” the CJN added.

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) says it will penalise airlines engaged in deceitful departure schedules.

In a statement on July 9 by the NCAA, Chris Najomo, its acting director-general, warned the airlines to desist from the infraction or face dire regulatory actions.

According to the statement by Michael Achimugu, NCAA’s director, public affairs and consumer protection, the authority now runs a zero-tolerance approach to regulatory infractions.

“Ease of doing business is the crux of the D-G’s action plan for the NCAA. In line with that action plan, he has made processes for licensing easy for operators,” he said.

“The time to secure AOC is now shorter and less cumbersome than it used to be in the past. The NCAA therefore expects reciprocity from airlines. Chief of which is world-class services to passengers.”

Najomo said if the NCAA was facilitating a business-friendly environment for operators, then the operators must satisfy the passengers with superior services.

“It has come to our notice that some airlines are being reported for advertising deceitful departure times. The NCAA regulation says no airline shall display deceitful passenger departure time at its counter, advert material or on its website,” he said.

“We want to make it very clear that the D-GCA has directed monitoring and offenders will face serious regulatory actions.”

He said the authority believes in safety, discipline, and economic regulation which is evident in the recent suspension of 10 permits for non-commercial flights (PHCF) holders for failing to comply with the recertification advisory issued in April.

Speaking further, Najomo said the ease of business is an area NCAA would continue to improve.

“This is evident in our high score on the Presidential Enabling Business Council (PEBEC) ranking. Recently our sister agency scored 96 per cent but the NCAA scored 98.5 per cent which is an extremely high score,” he said.

“This is building from the commendable score of 71.04 per cent the NCAA scored during this year’s ICAO Security Audit.

“The numbers are improving and we will continue to do what we can to make the industry safer, and more secure for passengers and stakeholders.”

On the difficulty in refund processes by airlines, Najomo said all refunds must be handled without undue delay and completed within 14 working days, irrespective of the method of ticket purchase.

Regarding the suspension of PHCF licences of 10 operators, Najomo explained that they had been advised since April to commence the process for recertification but refused to comply — leaving the NCAA with no option but to penalise them.

Serie A club, AS Roma are targeting a move for OGC Nice forward,Terem Moffi, DAILY POST reports.

Roma are looking for a new striker to replace Romelu Lukaku.

The Belgium international has returned to Chelsea following the conclusion of his loan.

According to LaRoma24.it, the Giallorossi have lined up Moffi as a potential replacement.

The Nigeria international was signed by Roma director Florent Ghisolfi from Lorient during his time as Nice sporting director.

Moffi registered 11 goals and two assists in 32 appearances for Nice last season.

The Supreme Court will tomorrow, deliver judgment in the suit filed by the Federal Government against the 36 Governors seeking full autonomy for the 774 local governments in the country.

A document sighted on Wednesday at the apex court indicated that parties in the suit have been notified through their respective lawyers.

It was observed the notice for the judgment delivery was served on the Federal Government through the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice at the Federal Ministry of Justice in Abuja.

Details shortly…

OB3 gas pipeline project

The presidency is concerned over the failure of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to fulfill milestones critical to the goals of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, TheCable understands.

According to insiders, Hadiza Bala Usman, special adviser to Tinubu on policy and coordination and head of the central results delivery coordination unit (CRDCU), expressed these concerns during a review of the quarterly performance assessment of the ministry of petroleum resources (oil).

Usman said the government is worried about key uncompleted projects by NNPC, a source told TheCable.

Specifically, the government official said the NNPC has continued to delay the completion of state-owned refineries — including the Port Harcourt refinery.

This, according to Usman, followed the “mechanical completion” of the rehabilitation work on a section of the refinery on December 21, 2023 — with assurance that operations would commence after the Christmas break.

The NNPC shifted the commencement of operations to April 2024 — of which Usman noted that there has not been any update on whether production at the refinery would commence this month, the source said.

Usman was said to have stressed that the endless changes in timelines for the commencement of production at the refinery was concerning to the government and Nigerians.

“This continued shifting in timelines is eroding the confidence of Nigerians in the government, and as an administration, we cannot allow that,” Usman was quoted as saying.

“This is why Mr President mandated the CRCDU to track the deliverables and performances of all MDAs, and we have no option but to identify and engage the Ministry of Petroleum NNPC Ltd on the situation at hand.”

According to the source, Usman also said the rehabilitation of the refinery was meant to bring the facility to optimal capacity for production rather than “attain tokenistic and marginal production milestones”.

Furthermore, she expressed worry about the decline in crude oil production from 1.351 million barrels per day (mbpd) in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023 to 1.265 million bpd in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024.

In addition, the source said the government official emphasised the need for the NNPC and the security agencies to work together to improve daily production and achieve the government’s target of 1.65mbpd for the second half of 2024.

She also identified the importance of ramping up efforts to expedite the speedy completion of the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) gas pipeline project, which has been lingering.

Usman, it was learnt, said the CRDCU would employ the support of all stakeholders to ensure that the NNPC delivers on its performance indicators as directed by the president.

Bandits have released the remaining three children of Janet Gimba, a customary court judge, who were abducted in Kaduna, after spending 15 days in captivity.

Godwin Ochai, chairman of the Kaduna branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), confirmed the children’s release on Tuesday.

Family sources also confirmed the development to TheCable via telephone chat.

However, it was not immediately clear if a ransom was paid for their release.

The judge and her sons were reportedly abducted at their residence in the Mahuta area of Kaduna on June 23.

The abductors, numbering up to 15, invaded the home of the judge at night when her husband, a medical doctor, was away on duty.

The bandits were said to have demanded N300 million ransom for their release and threatened to start killing their victims one after the other if payment was delayed.

One of the children, a 14-year-old boy, was, however, killed by the bandits when the N298 million ransom demanded could not be delivered at the stipulated time.

On July 4, the abductors released Janet, holding the three children captive.

She said the bandits had reduced the ransom demand to N150 million upon release.

A witness at the Ikeja Special Offences Court has disclosed how former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele transferred millions of naira to his wife, Margaret’s accounts.

The witness, an assistant bank manager, Ifeoma Ogbonnaya, on Tuesday, testified that millions were moved in tranches to various companies’ accounts.

Emefiele faces trial for abuse of office and alleged $4.5 billion and N2.8 billion fraud. He is facing trial in three courts in Lagos and Abuja, alongside co-defendant Henry Omoile.

Prosecutor Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN) led Ogbonnaya in evidence. The witness managed accounts that received huge funds from CBN. She confirmed that Margaret Emefiele owned the accounts and approved transactions.

Ogbonnaya listed companies involved, including Amswinh Resources and Solution, Limelight Dimensional Service Limited, Omec Support Service Limited, and Mango Farm.

The witness said: “The accounts are for Mrs Margaret Emefiele, the ex-CBN governor’s wife.

“The companies sent transfer instructions to my email and Margaret Emefiele is the beneficiary and owner of the money.”

She said Emefiele’s wife sent transfer instructions via email, phone calls, and WhatsApp.

The court admitted transaction details as evidence. The trial is expected to continue today.

In a separate case, the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) adjourned ruling on Emefiele’s application to travel abroad for medical treatment. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) opposed the application, fearing Emefiele might flee if his International Passport is released.

Lionel Messi was on target for Argentina in the 2-0 win over Canada to guide them into the final of the 2024 Copa America.

The defending champions produced arguably their best performance of the competition with a dominant showing to qualify for a second consecutive final.

Manchester City forward, Julian Alvarez put Argentina in the lead in the 22nd minute with a low key finish following good work from Rodrigo Paul.

The trio of Angel Di Maria, Rodrigo Paul and Lionel Messi combined to devastating effect to rip Canada open at every opportunity but they were unable to add to their lead going into the break.

Six minutes into the second half, Lionel Messi scored his first goal of the competition with a close range finish to make it 2-0 for Argentina.

Canada failed to test Argentina goalkeeper, Emi Martinez until the last minute when Tani Oluwaseyi’s effort was parried away from safety.

Lionel Messi was named the player of the match following another influential performance and he is on course to win a third consecutive trophy for Argentina after the Copa America in 2021, FIFA World Cup in 2022.

He has now become the only player to lead his country to eight major finals in the history of football after guiding them to five Copa America finals, two World Cup finals and Olympic football finals.

The 37-year-old revealed that he is enjoying his “last battles” as he closes in on rounding up an illustrious career.

Messi said, “I’m living it like I lived it in the last Copa America, in the last World Cup….these are the last battles and I’m enjoying them to the maximum.”

He also praised his teammates for the way they have recovered from past disappointments to become successful.

He said, “The truth is that it’s crazy what this group has done, what the Argentina national team has been doing, because after all this it gives value to all (the tournaments) I and the old generation have played in,

“It’s not easy for us to be in a final again, for us to compete again to be champions,”

Lionel Messi and his teammates will take on the winner between Uruguay and Colombia in the final on Sunday.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, is planning to secure a fresh $2 billion oil-backed prepayment loan amid fuel scarcity in the country.

This is according to a report by Reuters on Tuesday, suggesting that NNPCL plans to achieve the deal in two months.

The Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari said the new financing would allow investment in its business. 

“We have no problem covering our gasoline payments. This is just money for normal business and not a desperate act,” Kyari told Reuters.

Kyari said the company wanted the new loan against 30,000-35,000 barrels per day of crude production, though he declined to say how much money it sought.

“It will be a syndication with critical but regular partners who have been in business with our company to forward the cash,” Kyari said on Tuesday, adding that he expected to conclude the deal in the next two months.

This comes as a report emerged that NNPCL’s debts to petrol suppliers had doubled in the last four months to hit $6 billion.

However, the spokesperson of NNPC, Olufemi Soneye dismissed the claim.

Recall that on August 16, 2023, NNPCL secured a $3.3 billion emergency crude repayment loan — a transaction aimed at supporting the naira and stabilizing the foreign exchange (FX) market.

Arranged by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the $3.3 billion crude-for-cash loan was also targeted at supporting the federal government’s monetary and fiscal reforms.

Further analysis showed that the existing $3.3 billion and the new $2 billion would amount to a $5.3 crude-for-cash loan.

The development comes amid concerns by Dangote Refinery over its inability to get Nigerian crude from International Oil Companies.

This is also as Nigerians have continued to groan as fuel scarcity which started last week in Abuja, Nasarawa, Lagos has spread across Kano, Kaduna, Katsina and other states.

Professor of Political Economics, Patrick Utomi, has said the new policy on 150 days import duty-free window for rice, maize, wheat and other cereals by President Bola Tinubu is wrong.

Pat Utomi said the new policy announced by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, on Monday, was an invitation to famine.

On Tuesday, Utomi said the federal government was repeating mistakes made by previous governments that led many farmers to leave farming for oil-related jobs and construction as crude oil prices rose in the international market.

“Do we forget so quickly? How poor trade policy with the ascendance of oil income caused cash crop farmers to abandon the farms to the non-tradable goods sector as messengers and construction workers and when Oil price volatility resulted in construction firms not being paid on time triggering their retrenchment.

“They did not go back to farms and we became a mono-product economy. Now we want to make dependence on food imports permanent when we have not the money to pay for the imports. We are inviting a famine,” Utomi said.

Professor Utomi said had the federal government addressed insecurity and banditry, food inflation would have been brought down as farmers would have access to their farms.

He further accused the federal government of preferring luxury projects to factors that caused food inflation.

The Economist said the 150 days import duty-free window for rice, maize, wheat and other cereals would cause structural damage in the future.

“Months ago I pleaded that this food price inflation should be combated with forest rangers being deployed to fertile territories and farmers given input incentives managed by NGOs and not corrupt government officials so that they can focus on legumes that can be harvested in three months and the markets flooded with food.

“Instead, we focused on Presidential Jets, Lagos-Calabar Highway, SUVs for National Assembly and Presidential motorcades of 100 vehicles. The height of unwisdom. Now the chicken has come home to roost and we want to inflict long-term structural damage in panic incentives,” Utomi added.

Recall the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA), called for measures by the federal government to protect farmers and local investors who may be affected by the import duty-free window.

On Monday, NACCIMA National President, Dele Oye, commended President Tinubu but called for monitoring of the policy’s implementation.

Oye said importers and foreign companies may turn Nigeria into a dumping ground for substandard cereals with the policy in the next 150 days.