Television Nigerian

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) group led by Dr. Mustapha Inuwa filed a lawsuit against the state’s ward, local government, and state congresses, but the Katsina High Court rejected it.

The conduct of the July and August 2024 PDP congresses held in the state has been the subject of a legal dispute between Inuwa’s supporters and those of Senator Yakubu Lado, a candidate for governor.

Along with eight other people, Inuwa, a former Secretary to the State Government (SSG), filed a lawsuit in the state High Court, requesting that the court prevent the party from holding congresses due to their inability to obtain the necessary documents.

According to the plaintiffs, they brought the lawsuit on behalf of 7,905 other party members who were unhappy with how the state’s congresses were run.

However, the PDP, the suit’s respondent, submitted a preliminary objection through its attorney, Isaac Nwachukwu, asking the court to dismiss the case on the grounds that the plaintiffs had the necessary authority and competence to bring the lawsuit.

Justice Abbas Bawale, the presiding judge, rejected the plaintiffs’ application in his ruling yesterday, stating that the court lacked the authority to consider the case.

Read Also: Group Backs Chukwuma for Anambra Governorship, Hails Him as Ideal Candidate

Citing pertinent sources, the judge decided that the party’s congresses were mostly internal issues that the court shouldn’t become involved in.

He went on to say that the court only considers cases based on complaints from party primaries in compliance with the country’s Electoral Act, 2022, as modified.

But when contacted, Mustapha Shitu-Mahuta, the plaintiffs’ attorney, claimed that the state PDP congresses were unlawfully held and flagrantly violated the party’s constitution.

Shitu-Mahuta pledged to appeal Justice Bawale’s decision to the appellate court while voicing his clients’ displeasure with the ruling.

On Friday, it seemed probable that the US Supreme Court would uphold a regulation that would compel ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, to either sell the enormously popular online video-sharing platform or shut it down.

The majority of the nine-member bench’s conservative and liberal justices seemed dubious of claims made by a TikTok attorney that compelling a sale violated the company’s First Amendment right to free expression.

The rule, which was signed by President Joe Biden in April, would prevent TikTok, which has 170 million members in the US, from accessing US app stores and web hosting services unless ByteDance sells off its stake in the social media company by January 19.

According to the US government, TikTok serves as a platform for propaganda and gives Beijing permission to gather information and spy on users. ByteDance and China vehemently refute the allegations.

During two and a half hours of oral arguments, TikTok attorney Noel Francisco stated, “This case ultimately boils down to speech.” Ideas are what we are discussing. The government cannot censor speech, if the First Amendment is to be believed.

Citing TikTok’s Chinese ownership, a number of the justices objected.

Justice Samuel Alito stated, “There’s a good reason for saying that a foreign government, especially an adversary, does not have free speech rights in the United States.” Why would everything change if it were only concealed under a phony corporate structure of some sort?

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh brought up the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act’s national security implications.

“I believe the president and Congress were worried that China was gaining access to data about tens of millions of Americans, including teenagers and people in their twenties,” Kavanaugh stated.

“That they would use that information over time to develop spies to turn people, to blackmail people, people who a generation from now will be working in the FBI or the CIA or in the State Department,” he continued, was their worry.

Is the court “supposed to ignore the fact that the ultimate parent is, in fact, subject to doing intelligence work for the Chinese government?” Roberts questioned the TikTok attorney.

Francisco claimed that Congress had alternative options for resolving its issues, like mandating that information from TikTok users in the US not be shared with third parties.

He said, “They never even thought of that most obvious alternative,” which is to say, “You can’t give it to China, you can’t give it to Google, you can’t give it to Amazon, you can’t give it to ByteDance.”
Francisco was questioned about what would happen if ByteDance decided not to sell TikTok after January 19.

He declared, “We go dark.” “The platform basically shuts down.”

Justice Amy Coney Barrett took issue with Francisco’s characterization.

“You keep saying shut down,” Barrett said. “The law doesn’t say TikTok has to shut down. It says ByteDance has to divest. If ByteDance divested TikTok, we wouldn’t be here, right?”

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, representing the Biden administration, also raised national security concerns, calling Chinese government control of TikTok a “grave threat.”

“The Chinese government could weaponize TikTok at any time to harm the United States,” Prelogar said. “There is no protected First Amendment right for a foreign adversary to exploit its control over a speech platform.”

The potential ban could strain US-China relations just as Donald Trump prepares to be sworn in as president on January 20.

Trump, who has 14.7 million followers on TikTok, has emerged as an unlikely ally of the platform — in a reversal from his first term, when the Republican leader tried to ban the app.

Read Also: Military reaffirms readiness to flush out Lakurawa terrorists

Trump’s lawyer, John Sauer, filed a brief with the Supreme Court last month asking it to pause the law, “thus permitting President Trump’s incoming Administration the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case.”

In an 11th hour development on Thursday, US billionaire Frank McCourt announced that he had put together a consortium to acquire TikTok’s US assets from ByteDance.

“We look forward to working with ByteDance, President-elect Trump, and the incoming administration to get this deal done,” McCourt said.

AFP, among more than a dozen other fact-checking organizations, is paid by TikTok in several countries to verify videos that potentially contain false information.

Major General Oluyinka Soyele, the Theatre Commander of Joint Task Force North West Operation Fansan Yamma, has reiterated that troops are prepared to take on the terrorist organization Lakurawa near the Nigeria-Niger border.

This statement was made on Friday while on an operational visit to the DHQ Special Operations Brigade’s tactical headquarters, which is located in Balle, Gudu Local Government Area, Sokoto State.

Soyele emphasized that the troops involved in Operation Flush Lakurawa Out must be committed.

He emphasized how crucial it is to preserve Nigeria’s territorial integrity, calling it “non-negotiable.”
He urged the troops to be vigilant and resolute in their efforts to undermine the criminal organization’s power, which endangers the safety and tranquility of the border villages.
Soyele made contact with the local populace and asked for their assistance in combating terrorism.

He called on citizens to actively cooperate with security forces, emphasizing the vital role that local support plays in the accomplishment of military operations.

He said that “a solid alliance between the community and the troops can improve operational effectiveness and promote a united front against terrorism.”

Read Also:Abiodun authorizes 2023/2024 promotion exercise for civil servants

In order to properly handle the difficulties posed by insurgency and ensure long-term peace, the Theatre Commander emphasized the importance of intelligence sharing and community participation.

According to him, “the mission to flush out the group aims not only to restore security but also to facilitate a stable environment conducive to community development and prosperity through clear communication and collaborative efforts.”

Prince Dapo Abiodun, the governor of Ogun State, has given his approval for the state’s qualified civil and public workers to participate in the 2023 and 2024 promotion exercises.

The exercises, which will exclusively use oral interviews as the technique of assessment, are anticipated to benefit 26,764 civil/public personnel from junior, senior, and managerial cadres throughout Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of the state government.

The authorized promotion exercises, including upgrading and transfers, cover eligible civil/public servants within the core civil service, teaching and non-teaching staff of government secondary schools, primary school teachers, and employees of state-owned boards, corporations, and agencies, including the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), according to a statement released by Mr. Kehinde Onasanya, the State’s Head of Service.

Onasanya claims that in order to advance the careers of qualified officers, the Governor has also authorized the administration of the December 2024 edition of the combined confirmation/promotion tests and mandatory public service examinations for officers in the senior and junior cadres. These exams are typically administered by the Bureau of Establishments and Training, Office of the Head of Service.

He stated that the state government is unwavering in its determination to put employee welfare first as part of its “Building Our Future Together” agenda, and that the governor’s approval of the promotion exercises is just one more example of his dedication to enhancing the well-being, morale, and career advancement of its hordes of employees.

The Head of Service called for workers to fully return to their tasks and thanked Governor Abiodun for his many admirable and worker-friendly measures that have greatly improved workers’ well-being and career advancement.