Connect with us

Metro

DRUG TRAFFICKING: Court denies Nigeria’s suspended ‘super-cop’, Abba Kyari, fingered by FBI, bail

Published

on

The ordeal of Nigeria’s ex-super cop, Abba Kyari continues as Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday refused to grant bail to the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police.

Mr. Kyari and six others have been arraigned by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) over alleged drug trafficking offences after the agency released video evidences of Mr. Kyari attempting to sell seized drugs and attempting to bribe an official of the anti-drug agency in February.

The Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI) indicted the highly decorated officer making an arrest at the request of fraudster – Ramon Abbas, who has pleaded guilty to money laundering, according to the US Justice Department.

Since the FBI’s revelation, the possibility of having Kyari extradited to the United States to face charges has been a subject of controversy with Nigeria’s Attorney General, Abubakar Malami caught in the middle of the controversy with confusing and inconsistent stands.

At the court hearing today, the NDLEA argued that it was inappropriate to grant bail to the applicant because of the facts and circumstances of the case. NDLEA believes that the medical challenges which the applicant (Kyari) based his bail request on were not beyond the capacity of the agency’s medical personnel.

The anti-narcotic agency described Kyari as “a flight risk”, arguing that if granted bail, the suspended DCP might escape and interfere with the evidence if granted bail, urging the court to dismiss Kyari’s bail plea.

The judge, in the ruling, aligned with NDLEA’s arguments and dismissed the request. He also ordered the transfer of Kyari and his co-defendants to Kuje Prison in Abuja.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Metro

Complying with court order, CSU releases Tinubu’s records to Atiku. Here are the key details

Published

on

After a long-drawn battle, the
Chicago State University (CSU) has finally released the academic records of President Bola Tinubu to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, following an order by a United States District Court in Northern District of Illinois.

The CSU, which released the documents to Atiku, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the disputed February 25 presidential election in Nigeria, also affirmed that Tinubu graduated in 1979 with a Bachelors degree in Business Administration.

The institution said that after diligent search, it was able to find some documents Atiku had requested for but could not give specific names because of privacy concerns.

It further said that it could not find the particular documents of Tinubu which Atiku claimed were presented by the president to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), but said the university found some diploma certificates with the same font as the one being queried by Atiku.

“CSU does not, in the ordinary course, keep copies of student diplomas, and after the diligent search cannot locate a copy of the original diploma it prepared for Mr Tinubu in 1979, hence, has no documents responsive to this request,” the varsity said in a statement.

The CSU documents which were released late Monday, was in response to Atiku’s four requests which included a request for “a true and correct copy of any diploma issued by CSU in 1979 to Mr Tinubu.”

The release of Tinubu’s academic records by CSU was in compliance with the the district judge’s dismissal of the president’s motion of objection filed last week by his lawyers.

In ruling in favour of Atiku, the judge, Nancy Maldonado, had given the CSU till Tuesday to release the records.

“For the foregoing reasons, the court overrules President Tinubu’s objections to Magistrate Judge Gilbert’s recommended ruling, and therefore, adopts the ruling in full,” Maldonado had said.

“Mr Atiku’s Application is, therefore, granted. In light of the pending Supreme Court of Nigeria deadline, represented to the court as October 5, 2023, and based on CSU’s representations that it is ready to comply with the discovery requests and produce a witness, the court sets an expedited schedule for completion of discovery.

“Respondent CSU is directed to produce all relevant and non-privileged documents in response to Requests for Production Nos. The Rule 30(b)(6) deposition of CSU’s corporate designee must be completed by 5:00 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, October 3, 2023. Given the October 5, 2023, filing deadline before the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the court will not extend or modify these deadlines,” the ruling added.

Continue Reading

Metro

Again, Nigeria’s labour unions suspend strike

Published

on

Nigeria’s organized labour, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), has once again suspended the indefinite nationwide strike that was scheduled to begin on Tuesday, October 3rd, by 30 days.

The leadership of the two unions, which announced the suspension of the strike at the end of a marathon meeting with representatives the Federal Government in Abuja on Monday night, said the decision to suspend the indefinite strike, which was aimed at protesting the hardship of Nigerians as a result of the removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government, was due to some agreements reached with the government.

The unions had held a meeting with government on Sunday night and promised to present a fresh list of offers from the federal government to their various organs before taking a final position on the strike.

The Sunday meeting had seen the government resolve to waive the Value Added Tax (VAT) on diesel for six months, as well as fast-track the introduction of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses to address the cost of transportation arising from the removal of fuel subsidy, among other measures.

At the Monday night meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, General Secretary, Emmanuel Ugboaja, as well as the TUC President, Festus Osifo, and Secretary General, Nuhu Toro.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Dr. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, and Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, appended the document on behalf of the federal government.

Announcing the outcome of the meeting, Lalong said:

“The NLC and TUC accept to suspend for 30 days the planned Indefinite Nationwide strike scheduled to begin, Tuesday, the 3rd of October, 2023.”

According to the terms of the agreement, the government agreed to grant a wage award of N35,000 only to all federal government workers beginning from the month of September, pending when a new national minimum wage is signed into law.

Parts of the agreement read:

“The NLC and TUC accept to suspend for 30 days the planned Indefinite Nationwide strike scheduled to begin, Tuesday, the 3rd of October, 2023.

“The Federal Government grants a wage award of N35,000 (thirty-five thousand Naira) only to all Federal Government workers beginning from the month of September pending when a new national minimum wage is expected to have been signed into law.

“A minimum wage committee shall be inaugurated within one month from the date of this agreement.

“Federal Government accepts to vote N100 billion for the provision of high capacity CNG buses for mass transit in Nigeria. Provisions are also being made for initial 55,000 CNG conversion kits to kick start an auto gas conversion programme, whilst work is ongoing on state-of-the-art CNG stations nationwide.

“The rollout aims to commence by November with pilots across 10 campuses nationwide.

“The Federal Government should urge state governments through the National Economic Council and Governors Forum to implement wage award for their workers.

“Similar consideration should also be given to local government and private sector workers.  A joint visitation will be made to the refineries to ascertain their rehabilitation status.”

Continue Reading

EDITOR’S PICK

Politics13 hours ago

EU agrees sanctions framework for actors linked to Sudan war— Sources

Sources close to developments in Sudan have revealed that European Union ambassadors on Monday agreed on a framework of sanctions...

Culture14 hours ago

Netflix documentary sheds light on 30-year-old Zimbabwe school mystery

A recently released Netflix documentary titled “Encounters” has shed new light on a 30-year-old school mystery that occurred in Zimbabwe...

Tech14 hours ago

Nigerian crypto startup, KoinWa launches Web3 education platform for varsity students

Nigerian cryptocurrency startup, KoinWa has announced launching a Web3 education platform, EduBlok, with the aim of empowering university students with...

Musings From Abroad14 hours ago

WHO announces second malaria vaccine

The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu has called for the use of a second malaria...

Sports14 hours ago

Cameroonian soccer great, Samuel Eto’o accused of match fixing, corruption

A sports platform in Cameroon, Camfoot.com has accused former striker and current President of the Cameroonian Football Federation (Fecafoot), Samuel...

Metro21 hours ago

Complying with court order, CSU releases Tinubu’s records to Atiku. Here are the key details

After a long-drawn battle, the Chicago State University (CSU) has finally released the academic records of President Bola Tinubu to...

VenturesNow22 hours ago

Nigeria, Egypt, S’Africa, other developing economies need $2tn annually to achieve net-zero emissions— IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated in a report released on Monday that emerging economies, some of which are African...

Metro22 hours ago

Again, Nigeria’s labour unions suspend strike

Nigeria’s organized labour, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), has once again suspended the...

Metro1 day ago

Hearing in lawsuit challenging Uganda’s anti-gay law begins

Hearing in petitions filed before Uganda’s Constitutional Court challenging the recently passed anti-gay law in the country commenced on Monday,...

Tech1 day ago

Nigerian insurtech startup, ETAP partners AIICO to redefine car insurance

Nigerian insurtech startup, ETAP has entered into a partnership with frontline insurance firm, AIICO Insurance which will make it easier...

Trending