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#NigeriaDecides2023 [Vote-Buying]: EFCC Arrests Benue PDP Campaign Director With N306,700

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says its operatives have arrested Cletus Tyokyaa, director-general of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship campaign council in Benue, for alleged vote buying.

In a statement on Saturday, the agency said Tyokyaa was arrested at the RCM polling unit in Daudu, Guma LGA of the state, with the sum of N306,700 in various denominations stashed in his car.

It said Tyokyaa, who is also a lecturer at the Sarwuan Tarka University (formerly known as the University of Agriculture), Makurdi, the state’s capital, could not provide a logical explanation for visiting the polling unit.

“Luck ran out on the suspect when he drove to the voting centre which was different from his polling unit and tried to run upon sighting operatives of the Commission,” the statement reads.

“When asked about his mission at the center, Dr. Tyokyaa could not provide a coherent explanation, leading to arrest, and the search of his car revealed the money in various denominations.”

It said Tyokyaa was released after volunteering a statement to the commission.

In a related development, the EFCC said it arrested a man for alleged vote buying with N194,000 at the Gidan Zakka polling unit, Goron Dutse area of Kano Municipal LGA, Kano state.

It also arrested a party agent buying votes through bank transfers in Abaji in the federal capital territory (FCT), while two persons named Stanley Nsemo and Eno Amponsah were arrested in Calabar, Cross River state with the sum of $450 and N156,800 on suspicion of alleged votes buying.

The EFCC said its operatives intercepted a woman with 18 voter cards in a sting operation in Badarwa area of Kaduna state.

The anti-graft agency said the woman, Maryam Mamman Alhaji, who is a member of the support group of one of the leading political parties, also had in her possession a 17-page list containing names of eligible voters, their bank details and phone numbers as accredited under Badarwa/Malali Ward 01 and 08, Kaduna North LGA of Kaduna state.

“She was nabbed after undercover operatives pretended they had voter cards and were desperate to sell them,” the EFCC said.

“She is currently being grilled by operatives of the Kaduna Zonal Command of the EFCC, with a view to unraveling other members of her syndicate whom she claimed are also collecting voters’ cards and paying monies through PoS or direct bank transfers.”

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

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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…

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BREAKING: Court Orders Senate To Recall Suspended Natasha Akpoti

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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.

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

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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.

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