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Court Gives Senator Abaribe, Others Deadline To Produce Nnamdi Kanu
A Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned to February 28 for three sureties of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, to produce him in court or show cause why each of them should not forfeit his N100 million bail bond.
Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe and two others had stood surety to Kanu when he was dragged before the court.
Since the face-off by the group with the military in the compound of the Kanus in Abia State, Kanu has not been seen in public.
The court had at the last proceedings on December 5, 2017 adjourned to February 20 for the sureties to explain why Kanu suddenly stopped attending court and account for his whereabouts.
Abaribe has filed two applications.
One is asking the court to discharge him as surety to Kanu.
The other wants the court to inspect Kanu’s house in Abia State, where he was said to have been last seen.
The trial judge, Justice Binta Nyako, also granted an application by the prosecution on Tuesday and ordered that Kanu’s trial be separated from those of his co-defendants.
Kanu was in 2015 charged before the court with three others on treasonable felony charges.
The others are the National Coordinator of IPOB, Chidiebere Onwudiwe; an IPOB member, Benjamin Madubugwu; and a former Field Maintenance Engineer seconded to the telecommunication company, MTN, David Nwawuisi.
The court, in a ruling on April 25, 2017, granted bail to Kanu, but rejected others’ bail application.
Kanu has ceased to attend court, with his lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, claiming he (Kanu) had been missing since some soldiers invaded his home in September last year.
On Tuesday, his co-defendants, who are in prison custody, were brought to court.
The development prompted the prosecution lawyer, Shuaibu Labaran, to apply that the trial be separated to prevent further delay.
Labaran noted that Kanu’s continued absence from court since he was granted bail in April 2017 has frustrated progress in the case
He said: “In the circumstance, the prosecution shall be asking for the indulgence of your lordship to separate the trial so that progress can be made in this matter.”
Lawyers to the defendants did not object to Labaran’s application, following which the trial judge granted it.
Justice Nyako agreed with the prosecution that there was the need to separate Kanu’s trial from the others “to meet the justice of the case”.
She said: “I hereby separate the trial of the first defendant from the rest of the defendants.”
The judge also directed the prosecution to ensure that the charges were amended and served on the defendants before the next trial date.
Upon complaint from Chukwudi Igwe, lawyer to another IPOB member, whose name has been added as defendant in an amended charge, Bright Chimezie, Justice Nyako directed the prosecution to act on his case.
Igwe had complained that the Department of State Services was holding his client despite an order by a Federal High Court in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State directing that he be released.
He said, if by the next trial date the prosecution failed to reflect his client’s name in the fresh amendment to the charge, he would apply that the charge be struck out against Chimezie.
The judge subsequently adjourned to March 20 for further proceedings.
A 30-year-old teacher at Landmark School Mgbakwu in Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Faith Nwonye has been arrested for allegedly beating an 8-year-old pupil into a coma.
The state commissioner for Education, Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, who disclosed this while briefing journalists in her office on Monday, May 20, 2024, said that the school has been permanently shut down.
Chuma-Udeh said she had summoned the school’s proprietor and Nwonye to explain the incident that led to the brutal beating of the primary pupil.
“We received this unfortunate incident from an illegal school in Mgbakwu that a child was beaten to a coma over the weekend. On behalf of the State Government, we invited the proprietress of the illegal school as well as the teacher who purportedly beat the child,” she said.
“We’ve handed the matter to the police for further investigations, as we await Mr Governor’s directives. Meanwhile, the school is closed down indefinitely because it’s not supposed to exist in the first instance. Any parent who is enrolling his/her child in an illegal school is doing so at his/her own peril.
“To the proprietors of private schools, anyone running an unapproved school in Anambra is a criminal. It’s a criminal offence to run an illegal school in the state.
“Whether the school is legal or not, it’s criminal to beat a child. According to the doctor, the chances of survival of the child is 20%.”
The commissioner added that the teacher would be brought to book.
“As soon as the police are done, the teacher will face other institutions against child rights. She’s going to have the full wrath of the law brought upon her over her actions,” she said.
“Anambra state abhors violence to children, women, and any other person. It’s not part of this administration and Mr. Governor is against such.”
The Iranian President, Raisi has been confirmed dead alongside others in a helicopter crash.
The body of the President however could not be identified due to burns beyond recognition.
According to information, A foreign minister was also involved in the crash and a list of others. They are; Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Governor of Eastern Azerbaijan province Malek Rahmati, Tabriz’s Imam Mohammad Ali Alehashem, The Pilot, The Copilot, Crew Chief, Head of Security and Bodyguard.
The rescue team were at the crash site of the helicopter carrying the president and the discovery came after a long night of searching in freezing conditions.
Shortly before the discovery, Iranian Red Crescent Society head Pir-Hossein Kolivand said the situation was “not good.”
According to Reuters, the helicopter was completely burned in the crash.
Additional and Unfortunately, there is a possibility of martyrdom of all the passengers of the helicopter.
News
The Peruvian Government Has Officially Classified Transgender, Nonbinary And Intersex People As “Mentally ill”
According to the country’s ministry of health, the controversial decision was made to ensure the country’s public health services could “guarantee full coverage of medical attention for mental health” for the trans community.
It also categorises “dual-role transvestitism,” “fetishistic transvestism,” and “other gender identity disorders” under the same bracket of mental illness.
The new law will change language in the Essential Health Insurance Plan (PEAS) to reflect the view of trans and intersex people as a mental health disorder.
Trans groups across Peru have loudly condemned the decision as a step backwards for the country’s already complex relationship with LGBTQ+ rights.
Joe Levy Appointed CEO of Sophos
Teacher Arrested For Beating 8-Year-Old Pupil To Coma In Anambra
BREAKING: Iran President, Ebrahim Raisi And Others Confirmed Dead After Helicopter Crash
LASG Acquires New Outboard Engines For Optimum Boat Performance
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