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Money laundering: Court vacates bench warrant for Akwa Ibom commissioners

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BY: Ikenna Oluka

The Federal High Court in Lagos Friday vacated a bench warrant issued for two Akwa Ibom State commissioners and other officials.

Justice Rilwan Aikawa had on March 1, 2019 ordered the arrest of Commissioner for Finance Nsikan Nkan and Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Uwemedimo Nwoko.

He also ordered the arrest of Akwa Ibom Accountant-General, Mfon Udomah and an account officer Margaret Thompson Ukpe.

The bench warrant followed an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which said they were “at large”.

They were named in a charge against Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president Mr. Paul Usoro (SAN), who was accused of laundering N1.4billion state funds.

But the officials, through their counsel Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), filed a March 4 application asking that the bench warrant be set aside.

He argued the court had no jurisdiction over his clients as no charge was yet to be filed against them by the EFCC as they were not named as defendants.

He noted that in February 2017, Akwa-Ibom government sued the EFCC at a Federal High Court in Uyo over the harassment of its officials by the anti-graft agency.

Ozekhome alleged that despite a subsisting order asking the anti-graft agency to cease all action pending the conclusion of the case, the officials are still being harassed by the EFCC.

“The Attorney-General of Akwa-Ibom was the one personally conducting the Uyo case. The court later asked parties to stay all action pending the conclusion of the case.

“Initially the order was obeyed by the EFCC, but it later summersaulted and commenced a new wave of harassment of the officials.

“The Attorney-General later went physically to the Abuja office of the EFCC to lodge complaints but when nothing changed, contempt proceedings were commenced against EFCC,” Ozekhome said.

The SAN faulted EFCC for asking for his clients’ arrest when there was no record that they ignored lawful summons.

While urging the court to vacate the bench warrant, Ozekhome undertook to ensure that the officials were available to answer to any charge that may be filed against them.

Prosecuting counsel Rotimi Oyedepo said in view of Ozekhome’s undertaking, he would not oppose the application.

Justice Aikawa consequently vacated the arrest warrant.

Arguments on another motion by Governor Emmanuel Udom challenging the court’s jurisdiction to entertain the case were taken.

Udom’s lawyer Dr. Charles Mekwunye said EFCC was wrong to name the governor in the charge since he still enjoys immunity as enshrined in Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution.

Opposing the motion, Oyedepo said the court’s power to hear and determine money laundering related offences against all persons is not in doubt.

He insisted that Governor Udom is not a party to the case.

Justice Aikawa adjourned until May 30 for ruling.

EFCC alleged that Usoro conspired with others to commit the offence within the court’s jurisdiction on May 14, 2016.

He was alleged to have conspired to convert N1.4 billion, property of Akwa Ibom State Government, which sum they reasonably ought to have known formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful activity.

The prosecution said the unlawful activity included criminal breach of trust, which contravened sections 15 (2), 15(3), and 18 (A) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011.

Usoro pleaded not guilty.

Source: The Nation

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The Peruvian Government Has Officially Classified Transgender, Nonbinary And Intersex People As “Mentally ill”

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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.

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Math Teacher Accused Of Having Sex With 2 Students And Getting Pregnant For One Tearfully Reveals The Baby Was Taken Away From Her

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The UK teacher who had a baby with an underage student while on trial for having sex with another teenage boy broke down in court after revealing her newborn baby girl had been “taken away” from her.

Manchester math teacher Rebecca Joynes, 30, sobbed to jurors over how her baby was taken “24 hours after being born” this past January — and now she only sees her for nine hours a week, Joynes told jurors on Monday, May 13, according to the Manchester Evening News.

“At the moment I have contact with her three times a week for three hours and that’s it,” she said through tears.

Joynes was arrested and released on bail on orders not to have unsupervised contact with anyone under 18 after allegedly grooming her pupil, known as Boy A in court, by buying him a $430 Gucci belt before bringing him to her apartment for unprotected sex.

She was suspended from school and eventually fired, but soon after, she began having a relationship with a 15-year-old boy, known in court as Boy B, whom she had a baby with in January.

Joynes, who has denied having sex with either boy when they were underage, told the court that when she learned of the allegations against her she had gone to the second boy in a “panic” and he deleted all of her phone’s content.

The former teacher denied having a sexual relationship with the second boy until after he turned 16 and she was already suspended from teaching.

According to her narration,

She said he had added her on Snapchat twice, which she only accepted the second time because she thought he “wanted to tell her something.”

Joynes said a friendship developed and he quickly became her “best friend” even though the boy would make flirtatious and sexualized comments toward her when he was drunk.

She told jurors that it wasn’t until after his 16th birthday that he messaged her saying “I’ve left school now” with a winky face.

After she received notice that she had been dismissed from her job, he went to her apartment, where following an emotional conversation, they had sex.

The two then entered a relationship that Joynes described as “quite toxic” telling the court how the teenager was “very controlling.”

After discovering she was pregnant, Joynes hid love notes for the boy to find around her apartment.

The notes eventually led to a piece of baby clothing that had the words “I love my daddy to the moon and back” written on it.

The court was told that she gave birth to their baby girl in January, but following an emergency court hearing, the newborn was taken away from Joynes.

Joynes has denied two counts of sexual activity with Boy A; two counts of sexual activity with Boy B; and two counts of sexual activity with Boy B while being a person in a position of trust.

Her trial is ongoing.

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First Man To Receive Pig Kidney Transplant Has Died

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The first Man to receive a genetically modified pig kidney transplant has died two months after the operation.

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), which carried out the procedure in March, announced Sunday, May 12, that Richard “Rick” Slayman, 62, has died.

They said there was no indication his death was a result of the transplant.

Transplants of other organs from genetically modified pigs have failed in the past, but the operation on Mr Slayman, who was suffering with end-stage kidney disease, was hailed as a historic milestone.

In addition to kidney disease, Mr Slayman also suffered from Type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

In 2018, he had a human kidney transplant, but it began to fail after five years.

Following his pig kidney transplant on March 16, his doctors confirmed he no longer needed dialysis after the new organ was said to be functioning well.

“Mr Slayman will forever be seen as a beacon of hope to countless transplant patients worldwide and we are deeply grateful for his trust and willingness to advance the field of xenotransplantation,” MGH said in a statement.

Xenotransplantation is the transplanting of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another.

MGH said it was “deeply saddened” at his sudden death and offered condolences to his family.

Mr Slayman’s relatives said his story was an inspiration.

“Rick said that one of the reasons he underwent this procedure was to provide hope for the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive,” they said.

“Rick accomplished that goal and his hope and optimism will endure forever.

“To us, Rick was a kind-hearted man with a quick-witted sense of humour who was fiercely dedicated to his family, friends, and co-workers,” they added.

While Mr Slayman received the first pig kidney to be transplanted into a human, it is not the first pig organ to be used in a transplant procedure.

Two other patients have received pig heart transplants, but those procedures were unsuccessful as the recipients died a few weeks later.

In one case, there were signs the patient’s immune system had rejected the organ, which is a common risk in transplants.

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