Metro

Nigeria’s Tinubu files motion to stop US court from releasing ‘privileged documents’ to political rival, Atiku

Published

1 year ago

September 26, 2023

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has filed a motion at a United States court asking for the non-release of “privileged documents” to his political rival, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, as the battle over the disputed presidential election of February 25 continues.

In the motion he filed on Monday at the court of a United States District Judge, Nancy Maldonado, Tinubu sought an order mandating Chicago State University to protect his privileged information such as admission records, transcripts and gender, and release only his certificate to Atiku’s legal team.

The motion, which was filed by Tinubu’s US lawyer, Christopher Carmichael, emphasized that “the most critical fact has already been clearly and unequivocally established” by the University and there was no reason other information should be released.

The motion was in response to an earlier ruling secured by Atiku from Justice Jeffrey Gilbert which mandated the institution to release Tinubu’s academic records available to his legal team.

The documents which Atiku sought included a record of Tinubu’s admission and acceptance at CSU, as well as dates of attendance, degrees, awards and honours attained by him, which would form part of his appeal against the victory of the former Lagos State governor at the poll.

But with the deadline of last Thursday given by Judge Gilbert for the release of the documents, Tinubu’s lawyers approached Maldonado with the argument that the earlier decision by Gilbert needed to be reviewed by a district judge.

The request for a review and delay of the order was eventually granted by the US district judge. But on Monday, the President’s legal team pleaded with Maldonado to release only the certificate and preclude Tinubu’s other privileged records.

“The most critical fact has already been clearly and unequivocally established by Chicago State University: Intervenor was awarded the degree as he stated. This point is irrelevant to the applicant because he is not seeking anything more than opposition research on a political opponent,” the motion said.

“The magistrate judge clearly erred in granting the application for discovery and concluding that Chicago State University must respond to the document and deposition subpoenas.

“That conclusion should be set aside and the application should be denied because the information sought cannot be used and therefore is not ‘for use’ in the foreign proceedings.

“Even if a narrow subset of information can be considered ‘for use’ in the foreign proceeding, that is limited to the diploma submitted to INEC. Fishing expeditions into other documents and more document productions must be precluded,” it added.

Click to comment

Metro

Zambia: Expert warns of food security threat due to climate change

Published

6 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Isaac Dachen

A prominent Zambian climate-smart agriculture expert, Oliver Bulaya, has warned of a collapse of the county’s agricultural sector with a potential threat to food security due to the worsening impact of climate change.

Bulaya, who bared his mind in an interview with Zambia Monitor on Friday, warned that ignoring the crisis could lead to severe disruptions in the country’s food supply and economy.

“Unless concerted efforts are made, the country will continue facing dire consequences from climate change,” the expert noted.

He lamented a growing trend of farmers relocating to regions experiencing above-normal rainfall, such as the northern block, as they struggle with losses caused by climate variability.

Bulaya emphasized that the once-reliable rainfall areas like North-Western Zambia are now experiencing lower precipitation, as seen during the 2023/2024 farming season and cautioned that poor farming practices, which had already strained the Southern region, could lead to similar challenges in other parts of the country if proactive measures were not implemented.

Metro

Outrage over murder of Nigerian beaten to death by South Africans inside estate security office

Published

11 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The Nigerian community, under the auspices of Nigerian Citizens Association in South Africa (NICASA), has raised the alarm over the murder of a 37-year-old Nigerian, Julius Chukwunta, who was beaten to death by four South Africans inside an estate.

According to the association, Chukwunta, a native of Aninri Local Government Area in Enugu State, was reportedly attacked on Saturday, December 7, while driving to his residence in Midrand Protea Estate.

In a statement issued on Saturday by the President-General of NICASA, Dr Frank Onyekwelu, Chukwunta was blocked by the four men while approaching his residence.

Onyekwelu stated that information available to the association noted that after attempting to pass through, Chukwunta was met with resistance by the assailants, prompting him to seek help at the security office of the estate.

“At that moment, the four men allegedly attacked him, leaving him severely injured with a head wound,” the PG said.

“His female companion, who was sitting in the car, rushed to the security office and discovered him bleeding on the ground.

“In spite of attempts to call for help, the security office and residents did not assist in calling the police or an ambulance.

“After an hour, Chukwunta’s partner contacted her father, who, along with other family members, took him to Tembisa General Hospital.

“Chukwunta was placed on life support but later succumbed to his injuries and died at the Tembisa General Hospital on December 10, 2024.”

Onyekwelu also confirmed that the case was reported to the police by Chukwunta’s partner at the Midrand Police Station and was registered under file number 262/12/2024.

The NICASA President said the four suspects, aged 20, 24, 27, and 28, were arrested, and the case was presented in Alexandra Magistrate Court on December 13, 2024, where they were charged with murder.

“The court proceedings on December 18, 2024, saw three of the suspects granted bail of R10,000 each, while the fourth had not yet applied for bail. The case was adjourned to February 3, 2025.”

Onyekwelu however, expressed disappointment at the proceedings, wondering why three of the suspects were released on bail and vowed that the Nigerian community would continue to demand justice for Chukwunta and support his family.

He emphasised that the community would not rest until justice was served and the value of Nigerian lives was upheld in South Africa.