Connect with us


BIG STORY

FOOTBALL: US Court Dismisses Siasia’s Appeal Over FIFA Ban

Published

on

A United States Court of Appeal in New York has dismissed an appeal brought before it by Samson Siasia, former Super Eagles coach, seeking to overturn his five-year FIFA ban.

In a judgment delivered by a three-member panel on Thursday, the court ruled that Siasia failed to establish why a court in New York had jurisdiction over the case.

It added that the Nigerian failed to establish, in his suit, that FIFA, a body based in Switzerland, was “essentially at home” in New York.

The court also said although Siasia, who is based in the US, was banned from using a coaching licence issued by US soccer, his argument in that regard was not effective and barely supported by “conclusory statements.”

The ruling also affirmed the decision of a New York district court that had earlier dismissed the case on December 29, 2021.

“Upon consideration, it is hereby ordered, adjudged and decreed that the order of the district court entered on December 29, 2021 is affirmed,” the court statement reads.

“This case asks us to decide whether the district court properly dismissed Appellant Siasia’s 5 Complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction over Appellee Fédération Internationale de Football 6 Association (“FIFA”), a Swiss entity. See Siasia v. Fédération Internationale de Football 7 Association, No. 21 Civ. 6516 (AKH), 2021 WL 5042974, at *4 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 29, 2021).

“We 8 assume the parties’ familiarity with the underlying facts, the procedural history, and the issues on 9 appeal, which we reference only as necessary to explain our decision.

“The record does not support the finding that Siasia made a prima facie showing of personal 6 jurisdiction under either theory. Siasia’s support for general jurisdiction relies on generalized 7 claims and poorly supported speculations of future activity that plainly do not suffice to render 8 FIFA ‘essentially at home’ in New York.”

In 2019, FIFA found Siasia “guilty of having accepted that he would receive bribes in relation to the manipulation of matches”.

The offence, FIFA had said, violated the federation’s code of ethics and consequently pinned a life ban from football-related activities on the multiple Olympic medalist.

The ban was also accompanied by a 50,000 Swiss francs ($54,000) fine.

However, the sanction was reduced to a five-year ban on June 21 at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).

In August 2021, Siasia sued FIFA over the ban, saying the evidence was “grossly insufficient” and that the punishment violated his due process rights under the U.S. Constitution.

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