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

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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.

Metro

Following backlash, Nigerian govt withdraws treason charges against minors

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The Nigerian government has officially withdrawn the treason charges it entered against some minors who participated in the #EndBadGovernance protest that spread across the country from August 1 to the 10th.

The nation was thrown into shock on Friday when the Nigeria Police presented 76 protesters at the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges bordering on treason. Among the suspects were four minors who slumped before they could be arraigned before the court.

This caused serious uproar in the country with Nigerians condemning the government and calling for the unconditional release of the kids and the dismissal of the charges against them.

The decision to withdraw the charges against the underage accused came following a directive by President Bola Tinubu who ordered the immediate withdrawal of the charges and an in-depth investigation into what led to the arrest and detention of the minors.

Tinubu had also ordered the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, (SAN) to officially take over the case file as well as review the cases following public outcry that came with the arraignment of the minors.

The charges were finally withdrawn on Tuesday at the Federal High Court in Abuja through an application for discontinuance filled by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), Mohammed Abubakar, on behalf of the AGF.

According to Abubakar, the discontinuance application was based on provisions of sections 174(1), (b) and (c) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and 108 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015.

The DPPF also applied for further proceedings to be conducted without the presence of the minors in the courtroom, in line with provisions of Section 266(b) of the ACJA, 2015, and Section 1 of the Childs’ Rights Act.

In response, human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Fanala (SAN), who stood in for the accused as well as other defence lawyers in the matter, did not oppose the applications which promoted the judge, Justice Obiora Egwuatu, to strike out the charges, while the four affected minors were also delisted from the charge sheet.

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Zambia: President Hichilema urges traditional leaders to invoke rainmaking powers amid drought

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Zambian President, Hakainde Hichilema, has called on traditional leaders to call upon their rainmaking powers by praying for rain as the nation continues to face the menace of drought.

Hichilema, who made the plea while speaking during the Shikaumpa traditional ceremony of the Ila people in Namwala on Sunday, expressed hope for divine intervention and sufficient rains.

“We pray that this year, God will give us rains, sufficient rains, so we can grow more food, so we can take care of the things, the assets that we keep,” the President stated.

He noted that he was informed of certain chiefs known for their rainmaking abilities, including Senior Chief Mwamba of Northern Province, Chief Sailunga of North-Western Province and Mwami Monze from the Southern Province and urged them to use their powers to invoke rain, adding that the chiefs should continue their prayers for rain, believing that “God will hear our cry.”

The President also encouraged not only the chiefs but also the churches and the entire nation to join in prayers for rain.

“All of us, the churches, everybody, we must pray for rains so that we can take care of God’s people properly,” he said.

The head of state further urged farmers to intensify efforts at planting crops and maximizing their harvest for national food security once the rain comes.

The drought in Zambia in recent
seasons have left 84 districts severely impacted, leading to food shortages and a worsening electricity deficit due to low water levels.

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