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High Court Stops Emefiele’s Re-Arrest, EFCC Rejects N100m Fine

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The extended arrest of Godwin Emefiele, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, without charge or trial has been ruled a flagrant violation of his fundamental rights by the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja.

The Federal Government and the Economic Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) were fined a total of N100 million by the court, and they were prohibited from detaining or re-arresting the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria without a legitimate court order.

However, the EFCC declared that it would file an appeal after expressing its displeasure with the ruling.

The judgment was given in a fundamental human rights suit filed by the former CBN governor following his prolonged detention in the custody of the Department of State Services.

The former CBN governor was arrested on June 10 shortly after his suspension by President Bola Tinubu.

Though he was taken before the Federal High Court in Lagos on July 25, 2023, arraigned on illegal firearms charges and granted bail, the DSS re-arrested him on the court premises amid a clash with warders from the Ikoyi Correctional Centre.

The embattled former CBN governor was not released by the secret police until October 26, 2023, after nearly five months in custody.

Upon his release by the DSS on October 26, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission immediately picked him up and took him into custody.

He further remained in the EFCC custody until November 8 when he was taken to court for arraignment on procurement fraud charges.

In the suit, Emefile also asked the court to order the respondents to pay him N1bn damages and to restrain them from further arresting and or detaining him.

Listed as defendants in the suit were the Federal Government, the Attorney General of the Federation; the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and its chairman, Ola Olukoyede.

Delivering judgment in the case on Monday, Justice Olukayode Adeniyi said, “It is hereby declared that the actions of the first and fourth respondents and its agents incarcerating the applicants from June 13, 2023, to October 26, 2023, when he was transferred to the custody of the fourth respondent and his further detention by the third and fourth respondents without arraignment in the court of law for the commission of any offence up until November 8, 2023, when by the order of this court, the applicant was released on bail to his senior learned counsel, constitutes a flagrant violation of the applicant’s fundamental rights to personal liberty preserved by the provision of Section 35 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1979 and Article 6 of the African charter on human and peoples right.

“Also,  a sum of N100m only is herby awarded in favour of the applicant against the first and fourth respondents jointly as damages for the unlawful violation of his fundamental right to his personal liberty.

“Without prejudice to the powers of the court with respect to the criminal trial, the applicant is currently facing at the High Court of the FCT,  the respondents are hereby restrained either by themselves,  their officers,  agents, or any person acting on their behalf from further re-arresting or detaining the applicants without an order of a court of competent jurisdiction.”

During his ruling,  Adeniyi said he found the remand warrant obtained by the third and fourth respondents were questionable.

“The third and fourth respondents referred to remand warrants obtained from the chief magistrate of the FCT in Wuse.  I examined the said orders from the two magistrate courts and my finding is that the credibility is questionable,“ he said.

He noted that the practice of arresting suspects before investigation by security agencies must stop.

Adeniyi said, “Time has come to put an end to the unwholesome culture and practices of arresting and keeping a suspect in detention before the investigation of the suspect alleged of an offence.

A suspect must be allowed to have his day in court if indeed there is evidence of a commission of the crime against him.”

Reacting to the development in a statement on Monday, the EFCC said it would approach the Court of Appeal to set the judgement aside.

The anti-graft agency said,  “The decision failed to take cognizance of the fact that the former CBN boss was held with a valid order of court. Consequently, the commission will approach the Court of Appeal to set it aside.”

BIG STORY

Popular Islamic Singer Ibraheem Labaeka Resigns As Kwara Governor’s Special Assistant

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  • Laments Collecting Salaries “For Doing Nothing”

 

Ibraheem Abdulhameed, popularly known as Labaeka, has formally resigned as Special Assistant, Artiste to Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

Abdulhameed’s resignation was confirmed in a letter dated September 12, 2023.

In the letter, he expressed frustration with his role, citing the lack of a clear schedule of duties and inadequate opportunities to fulfill his responsibilities.

“I cannot continue to break that trust by taking a salary for doing nothing,” he wrote, signalling his disappointment with the lack of clarity surrounding his position.

The letter reads, “I am writing this letter with all sense of humility and gratitude for giving me the opportunity to serve as the Special Assistant, Artiste, in your cabinet.

“Having served in this capacity for a period of 1 year and 7 months, I wish to respectfully tender my resignation.”

He continues, “Your Excellency, as you may recall, I was offered an appointment to serve as your Special Assistant, Artist, on 6th January 2023. I accepted the offer because I saw it as a call to service and an opportunity to showcase my talents.

“Regrettably, I have not been able to achieve any of these things. Aside from the fact that I don’t have a specific schedule of duty, circumstances have not availed me the opportunity to perform my responsibilities maximally.”

He added “since my appointment is based on public trust, I cannot continue to break that trust by taking a salary, for doing nothing”.

“As an Islamic cleric. it is against my beliefs, and I haven’t been at peace with myself. So, I want my salary to be stopped immediately,” he said.

“I am grateful for the confidence reposed in me, and I hope that one day, I will be able to fully utilize my talents for the development of our state.”

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King Charles III Receives President Tinubu At Buckingham Palace

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In a historic meeting, King Charles III welcomed Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to Buckingham Palace in London on September 11.

The Royal Family announced the meeting on its verified X handle, @RoyalFamily, stating, “Yesterday, The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria visited His Majesty at Buckingham Palace.”

This significant encounter marks a milestone in UK-Nigeria diplomatic relations, with the two leaders discussing matters of mutual interest and importance.

While specific details of the meeting remain undisclosed, it is anticipated that key issues such as trade, security, and bilateral cooperation were addressed.

President Tinubu’s visit to Buckingham Palace underscores the strong ties between Nigeria and the UK, as both countries continue to foster a strong and lasting relationship.

According to another tweet on his verified X handle, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, recalled that Wednesday’s meeting was the second between both leaders in the last one year.

“President Tinubu visits King Charles in London. They first met in Dubai last November, on the sideline of the COP 28 Climate Summit”, Onanuga said.

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Husband Dismembers, Blends 38-Yr-Old Model With Blender In Switzerland

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Kristina Joksimovic, a 38-year-old former Miss Switzerland finalist, was allegedly strangled and dismembered by her 41-year-old husband.

According to reports, the husband used a jigsaw and garden shears to dismember Joksimovic, and then allegedly pureed her remains in a blender, as stated by the Daily Mail.

The couple, who married in 2017, resided in a spacious semi-detached house in an affluent area of Basel, and had two children together.

Kristina’s body was found in February in Binningen, near Basel, Switzerland.

Kristina had posted pictures of a ‘couple’s getaway’ on her Instagram account four weeks before her death.

Her husband, identified only by the pseudonym Thomas in local media, had his appeal for release from custody rejected on Thursday by the Federal Court in Lausanne after admitting to killing his wife.

An ongoing investigation has revealed ‘concrete indications of mental illness’ underlying the case.

Kristina’s husband is reported to have claimed he killed her in self-defence after she allegedly came at him with a knife, before later admitting he dismembered the former model.

Kristina’s body was found on the evening of February 13.

Investigators determined she had been strangled before dying.

The verdict states the suspect confessed to strangling his wife.

An autopsy concluded that the body was then dismembered in the laundry room with a jigsaw, knife, and garden shears.

Body parts were then chopped up with a hand blender, ‘pureed’, and dissolved in a chemical solution, local outlet Blick reported.

A medical-forensic report also ‘contradicts his description of self-defence’, according to Swiss outlet FM1 Today.

Thomas, a Swiss national, was reportedly arrested a day after her remains were found.

Investigators have said Thomas, a businessman, displayed a ‘conspicuously high level of criminal energy’ in their assessment.

They cited a ‘lack of empathy and cold-bloodedness after killing his wife’, and his efforts to cover up her death, adding that the defendant exhibited ‘sadistic-sociopathic traits’.

The deceased won the Miss Northwest Switzerland pageant in 2003 and was a finalist in the 2008 Miss Switzerland competition.

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