Connect with us


BIG STORY

Errand360NG Delivery Man Remanded Over Stolen Bike Dies In Prison

Published

on

A 19-year-old delivery man with a company, Errand360NG, Chidera (Ezekiel) Uzoma, has died in the Ikoyi Custodial Centre where he was remanded over the loss of a bike belonging to his employers.

It was gathered that after Chidera reported the loss to the company, he was arrested and charged to court.

A Twitter user, Oluchi @General_Oluchi, in a series of tweets on Monday, said the victim had been in remand since March 2022, adding that his elder brother, Samuel, had been calling for his release.

She tweeted, “Can we talk about this case? 20-year-old Chidera Uzoma started working for @errand360HQ as a delivery guy and one morning, he discovered that the work bike he parked in front of his apartment was missing. He informed the company and they arrested and charged him in court but promised to drop the case if he replaces the bike. Chidera replaced the bike, but @errand360HQ refused to drop the case. In March, he was remanded in Ikoyi prison and was found dead on April 24. Since then, his brother @justice4ezekiel has been tweeting about it.

“Ikoyi Prison said Chidera was sick for a while before he died. His family needs closure because the circumstances surrounding his death are mysterious.”

The victim’s brother, Samuel, said he went to the mortuary to retrieve his body on May 23.

He tweeted, “Yesterday, I was at the mortuary for the 2nd time. I was telling my brother, ‘bro bushman don comes Lag o, come teach me how to drag bus. He couldn’t even look at me. He laid there like a log of wood. Nigerians help me ask @errand360HQ. What happened to chidera, #justiceforchidera?

“He will be 20 by 12th October 2022. A dispatch company called @errand360HQ arrested him over a missing bicycle. Sue him without any of his family members knowing. He died in custody (ikoyi prison) the bicycle was even replaced, yet the complainant didn’t withdraw the case.”

The company, in a statement on Wednesday, said Chidera was treated with respect and fairness while he worked with them.

“He was also subject to the same contract terms, which included that he presented a surety before engagement. This surety was a certain Mr. Kenneth, who he introduced as his relative.

“On February 14, 2022, against company policy, Mr. Ezekiel (Chidera) took the company’s bicycle home and failed to return it the next day. He claimed that the bicycle had been stolen. Upon internal investigations and speaking to Ezekiel, the company did not find the story credible and so he was requested to return the missing bicycle.

“Some days later, specifically on February 19, some persons broke into the company’s maintenance building. The security personnel at the facility on the day identified Ezekiel as one of those who broke in. While investigating, we were informed that the police visited Ezekiel’s residence where some of the company’s bicycle parts were found.

“Based on this, the police arrested him and took him into custody for investigation and arraignment.”

Errand360NG stated that he was arraigned before a magistrate’s court and from then on, every due process was followed.

“On April 4, a replacement for the missing bicycle was provided. The company went to court and attempted an early withdrawal of the case, despite the next date of hearing being June 8. However, Ezekiel’s presence was required in court but authorities could not provide him before the court.

“We value the well-being of all our riders and employees and are deeply saddened by Mr. Ezekiel’s passing. The company followed due process by escalating the matter to the police for appropriate investigation and arraignment.”

The spokesperson for the Ikoyi Custodial Centre, Rotimi Oladokun, said records of the matter were not readily available.

“I am not in a position to deny or confirm this incident now, but I will go through the records and if there is any information regarding this matter, it will be made available to you.

BIG STORY

BREAKING: Court Finds Natasha Guilty Of Contempt, Fines Her N5 million

Published

on

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday convicted the senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, for contempt over a satirical apology she posted on her Facebook page on April 27.

Justice Binta Nyako, delivering judgment in the suit filed by Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan challenging her suspension, began with the contempt application submitted by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

Akpabio, in his application, argued that the senator’s social media post breached an earlier court order that restrained all parties from speaking to the press or posting on social media about the matter.

Akpoti-Uduaghan’s counsel contended that the post was unrelated to the court’s order on her suspension but was about a separate matter involving sexual harassment claims against the third respondent (Akpabio).

However, Justice Nyako ruled that after reviewing the post and the application before her filed by the third respondent, she was convinced it was connected to the suspension case before the court and therefore declared the plaintiff guilty of contempt.

The judge directed Akpoti-Uduaghan to publish an apology in two national newspapers and on her Facebook page within seven days. She also imposed a fine of N5 million.

 

More to come…

Continue Reading

BIG STORY

BREAKING: Court Orders Senate To Recall Suspended Natasha Akpoti

Published

on

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Friday ruled that the Nigerian Senate exceeded its powers by suspending Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months, ordering her to be immediately recalled to the Red Chamber.

Justice Binta Nyako, delivering the judgment, described the suspension period as “excessive” and lacking a solid legal basis.

The court stated that both Chapter 8 of the Senate Standing Orders and Section 14 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, which the Senate relied on, do not specify a maximum suspension length. Therefore, their application in this situation was considered overreaching.

The judge noted that since the National Assembly is only mandated to sit for 181 days in a legislative year, suspending a lawmaker for about the same length of time effectively silences an entire constituency, calling it unconstitutional.

“While the Senate has the authority to discipline its members, such sanctions must not go so far as to deny constituents their right to representation,” Nyako ruled.

However, the court agreed with Senate President Godswill Akpabio on a different issue, ruling that his decision to prevent Akpoti-Uduaghan from speaking during a plenary—because she was not in her designated seat—did not violate her rights.

Nyako also dismissed Akpabio’s argument that the judiciary should not interfere in what he described as an “internal affair” of the legislature, saying fundamental rights and representation fall squarely within the court’s jurisdiction.

In a separate twist, the court imposed a monetary penalty on Akpoti-Uduaghan for violating an earlier court directive that barred both parties from making public comments about the ongoing legal proceedings.

The fine amounts to millions of naira.

Continue Reading

BIG STORY

COALITION: We’ll Register New Party As Backup To ADC — El-Rufai

Published

on

A leader of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, and an important figure in the opposition coalition, Nasir El-Rufai, stated that a new political party would be registered as a backup for the African Democratic Congress, ADC.

El-Rufai explained that the new party would serve as an alternative option to guard against potential infiltration by the All Progressives Congress, APC, into the ADC.

The opposition coalition had chosen the ADC as its platform on Wednesday.

However, El-Rufai noted that there is a possibility the APC could spark a crisis within the ADC by turning old members against the new leadership.

He revealed this during an interview with Radio France International (RFI) Hausa Service on Wednesday night.

“Those who refuse to join the APC face threats of investigations by agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), or Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).

“The opposition parties’ alliance in the ADC is temporary, and we may register a new party as a second option, which we will move to should the ADC be instigated into crisis by the government,” the former Kaduna governor stated.

Continue Reading



 

Join Us On Facebook

Most Popular