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Left: Ariket, Who Is On The Run, and Mrs. Oduyemi On The Day of Her Arrest

Nine houses belonging to Funmilola Arike Ogbuaya, a Lagos socialite, have been forfeited to the federal government over allegations of drug dealing.

According to NewsMakers, an online medium, this followed the order of a federal high court in Lagos over the weekend.

Known in social circles as Ariket, Ogbuaya will “temporarily” forfeit the identified property to the federal government.

The newspaper said the court order followed a motion ex-parte marked FHC/L/124c/3017, filed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at its sitting on Friday.

Her property listed to be temporarily forfeited include house number 146, Idimu Road, Alimosho, Lagos; 235, Ikotun-Idimu Road, Ikotun, Lagos; 18, Olayiwola Shittu Street, Abaranje, Ikotun, and 13b, Ladipo Kuku, Off Allen Avenue, Ikeja.

Others are: 8, Olufemi Avenue, Omiasoro, Ilesa, Ilesa east LGA, Osun state; 6, Hakeem-One, Momoh Close, Governor’s Road, Ikotun; a plot of land at council area, Cele Bus stop, Idimu-Ikotun, and a plot of land along Papalanto-Shagamu Road, Omu-Penpe Village, Obafemi-Owode LGA, Ogun state.

The medium said Ogbuaya, who is linked to several drug deals, was accused of dealing in narcotic drugs and money laundering.

Also known as Funmilola Ogundipe, she is currently at large.

At the court sitting, Abu Ibrahim, the NDLEA counsel, urged the court to grant the ex-parte application.

He said the application was brought pursuant to section 44(2)(k) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended in 2011), section 3(1)(a)(c), 33(1)(a), 2 and 3, 36(b) of the National Drugs Laws Enforcement Agency Act Cap N30, Law of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and under inherent jurisdiction of the federal high court.

Ibrahim also urged the court “to permit or authorise his agency to place the listed property under seal, pending the arrest and prosecution of Ogbuaya.”

On hearing the submission of the NDLEA counsel, Hadizat Rabiu-Shagari, the presiding judge, granted the motion ex-parte.

The judge ordered that all the listed property belonging to Ariket should be temporarily forfeited to the federal government, pending her arrest and prosecution.

Rabiu-Shagari also ordered Ariket’s alleged accomplice, 57-year-old Morayo Omolara Oduyemi, to be remanded in prison custody, pending ruling on her bail application.

Oduyemi was arraigned during the sitting on a three-count charge of conspiracy, attempts to unlawfully export 1.595 kg of cocaine to Saudi Arabia, and unlawful dealing in narcotic.

She was arrested with the drug by NDLEA operatives on February 23 at Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Lagos.

She, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

BIG STORY

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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BIG STORY

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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BIG STORY

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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