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Why Supreme Court Shouldn’t Accept Atiku’s Plea On CSU Records — Tinubu

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Nigeria’s President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, says Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are attempting the impossible by trying to get the supreme court to accept fresh evidence in his appeal.

Atiku Abubakar and the PDP are challenging Tinubu’s victory at the presidential poll and the verdict of the election tribunal upholding the outcome of the vote.

Abubakar had alleged that Tinubu’s academic records were fraught with discrepancies and forgeries.

His request for the US court for the northern district of Illinois to compel Chicago State University (CSU) to release Tinubu’s academic records has since been granted.

The PDP candidate is now seeking to introduce these records at the apex court.

However, in a counter affidavit and written address filed through his team of lawyers, led by Wole Olanipekun, the president said his academic records obtained from CSU cannot be considered by the supreme court.

Tinubu argued that the court cannot accept the written deposition of the CSU registrar who was not a witness before the tribunal and whose written statement was not activated through oral evidence as required under Section 41(1) of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act 2022.

“Where a written deposition is not activated by oral examination of the deponent before the court, same will not be acted upon by a court,” Tinubu said.

“It is not in doubt that the deponent of the deposition sought to be introduced as additional evidence was not orally examined at the lower court.

“The appellant has not made a case for the court to override the provision of Paragraph 41(1) of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act or referred to any law permitting the use of the deposition outside the confines of Paragraph 41(1) of the 1st Schedule.

“Appellants are attempting the impossible, thus, they have not stated whether the evidence is documentary or oral evidence because it fits into neither.”

The president said “the new document/deposition was neither pleaded nor listed at the lower court”.

“Even in regular civil proceedings, the court will still be required to fall back to originating processes in assessing the extent of its powers,” he said.

“None of the seven issues for determination presented by the appellants has any proximity to the disqualification of the respondents on the ground of forgery of any certificate whatsoever.

“Equally, there is no relief in the petition, seeking the disqualification of the respondent on the ground of forgery.”

He argued that the apex court cannot admit the deposition by the CSU’s registrar and an additional document (marked Exhibits C and D) because the deposition was not made before a court but in the office of Abubakar’s lawyer.

“The purported deposition was made, not before a court, but before a shorthand reporter, in a law office of the 1st appellant’s (Abubakar) counsel,” Tinubu claimed.

“He described the evidence as “hearsay” adding that “it is of no evidential value in the absence of the alleged deponent, Caleb Westerberg.”

Tinubu also raised the issue of fair hearing, stating that if the fresh evidence is accepted, the respondents will have no opportunity to file a response to it.

“A person who alleges that his right to fair hearing is being or likely to be breached does not need to prove any special damage,” he said.

He said allowing the application would amount to hearing the petition of which the apex court no longer has the power to assume trial jurisdiction considering that the 180 days allowed by the constitution has since elapsed.

Tinubu submitted that the fresh application by Abubakar and the PDP “is meant to harass, irritate and annoy” him, adding that “it is reckless and frivolous, and there is no iota of law supporting it”.

“From the foregoing, it is safe to submit that this application is a crass abuse of the processes of this honourable court,” he added.

“In conclusion, and for the reasons and arguments advanced in this address, we urge the Supreme Court to dismiss this application.”

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Naira Depreciates Because I Was Out Of The Country — Odumeje

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The Mountain of Holy Ghost Intervention and Deliverance Ministry’s Prophet Chukwuemeka Ohanemere, popularly known as Odumeje, declared that he had returned to Nigeria in an effort to halt the dollar’s appreciation relative to the Nigerian Naira.

Odumeje, in a video recorded at the airport while returning from London, boasted: “This is Indaboski Bahose. The war and the battle. A man full of power and activities. The only man who tells you, “I will bring down a dollar,” and he gets it done. When I left the country, dollar began to rise; now, I am back, I will continue where I stopped.”

In a video recording of one of his church programmes a few weeks ago, the self-acclaimed prophet had claimed that the exchange rate of dollar to naira came down because of one of his powers, which he dubbed ‘Abidoshaker.’

His claims came on the heels of the Nigerian currency’s significant gains after exchanging at N1,920 per dollar.

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Two Brothers In Police Net For Alleged Gang-Rape In Ogun

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Olamijuwon Noibi and Lukman Olatunbosun, two brothers, have been taken into custody by the Ogun State Police Command on charges of gang rape at Oke Eri, Atan Ijebu Area, Ogun.

A trustworthy law enforcement source, on Thursday, revealed that Noibi had tricked Aminat Yakub into coming to his flat, where he then allegedly sexually abused her while plotting with Olatunbosun, his younger sibling.

Yakub was allegedly invited by Noibi to visit his mother on Saturday, but when she got to his residence, she didn’t get to see her.

After making her consume an alcoholic beverage called “Bullet,” he allegedly physically attacked her before raping her.

According to The Punch, Noibi was also coerced his younger brother, Olatunbosun, with a knife so he could join him in the act, and filmed both of them while they were having sex.

When contacted, the spokesperson for the Ogun Police Command, Omolola Odutola, confirmed the incident and said that the suspects had been arrested and would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for a discreet investigation.

“On the 24/4/2024, at about 13:00hrs, one Aminat Yakub ‘F’, Aged 21 years, of Main Estate Oke Eri Area, came to the station and reported that on the 21/4/2024, at about 12:30hrs, she went to the house of one Olamijuwon Noibi ‘M’ at Oke Eri on invitation to come and greet his mother. When she got there, she discovered that his mother was not at home.

“Juwon forcefully pushed her into his room, then forced her to drink Black Bullet and forcefully had sex with her twice after a serious beating. He later invited his younger brother, Lukman, to come and have sex with her but when his younger brother refused, he took a knife threatening to kill both of them. In the end, his younger brother ended up having sex with her after a serious beating and equally took a video of them.

“Upon the receipt of the complaint, the team of patrol led by Asp Ayoola Alidu at the station and went to the scene of incident. The two alleged suspect was arrested one Olamijuwon Noibi, ‘M’, Age 27 Yrs and one Lukman Olatunbosun, ‘M’, Age 20 yrs,” a police statement.

The PPRO noted that both brothers confessed to the alleged crime, and the victim was taken to the General Hospital Ijebu-Ode for examination, saying that the suspects would soon be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for “discreet investigation and further development will be communicated.”

Earlier report had it that the operatives of the Rivers State Police Command had arrested a 30-year-old man identified as Jeffrey for allegedly defiling the teenage daughter of his landlady in an estate in Abuloma, Port Harcourt Local government Area of the state.

It was learnt that the suspect, who had a tailoring shop at the estate, lured the 13-year-old girl to his business place one evening under the guise of showing her clothes.

But Jeffrey ended up locking the shop, overpowered the girl, and allegedly had his way with her.

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Lagos Government Pays N1.5bn WASSCE Fees For 58,000 Students

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58,000 pupils will be registered for the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination this year, with the state government spending N1.5 billion, according to Tolani Alli-Balogun, Commissioner of the Lagos State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education.

In announcing the ministry’s efforts to mark the first year of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s second term in office, the commissioner made this statement on Thursday.

On May 29, 2023, Sanwo-Olu took the oath of office for a second term as governor, vowing in his inauguration speech to disappoint the people of Lagos.

The commissioner, who spoke at the state secretariat, said, “The administration of Babajide Sanwo-Olu has never defaulted on the payment of WASCCE fees of all public school SS3 students in the four years of Governor Sanwo-Olus’s first term in office. The state government paid over N4.2bn between 2020 and 2023 to keep our promise of full payment of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination fees.

“In the current school year (2024), the governor has approved the sum of N1,571,076,000 as registration fees and other cost for 58,188 SS3 students writing the West African Senior School Certificate Examination.”

Last year, the West African Examination Council, which conducts WASSCE, noted that it had concluded plans to begin computer-based examinations in 2024.

It released the results of the first-ever CBT exam, 2024–First Series, in March this year.

The analysis of candidates’ performance showed that out of the 8,139 candidates that sat the examination, 3,424 candidates representing 42.07 percent obtained credit and above in a minimum of five subjects (with or without English Language and/or Mathematics).

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