Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the family of the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, challenging the Federal Government’s revocation of one of their properties in the Maitama District of Abuja.
In his judgment on Monday, Justice Lifu dismissed the suit, citing it as statute-barred among other grounds.
“The suit, filed in 2015, was brought nine years after the revocation of the property, making it invalid under the law,” Justice Lifu stated.
This marks the fourth legal defeat for the Abacha family concerning their property claims. Previous attempts in the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory and the Court of Appeal were also unsuccessful on jurisdictional grounds.
“The plaintiffs lacked legal standing to file the suit,” Justice Lifu affirmed, agreeing with arguments presented by the defendants, including Salamed Ventures Limited.
Read also: EFCC apprehends 10 suspected illegal miners in Oyo
The family had sought to nullify the revocation of their Certificate of Occupancy for a property located at Osara Close, Maitama, which they claimed was done unlawfully and without compensation.
“The court also noted breaches of building regulations on the property, which justified the revocation,” Justice Lifu concluded.
The court awarded costs of N500,000 against the plaintiffs, to be paid to Salamed Ventures Limited, the fourth defendant in the suit.
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Court rejects Abacha family’s N500m lawsuit against Nigerian govt
Nasarawa lawmakers urge police to flush out illegal miners
The Nasarawa State House of Assembly has called on the state Commissioner of Police, Umar Nadada to ensure that all illegal miners in the state are flushed out to curtail the level of insecurity and other criminalities across its 13 local government areas.
The House also commended the state Governor, Abdullahi Sule, for attracting investors to the state.
To this end, the House urged the state government to ensure that all miners pass through the necessary processes required by the law before being given licences to operate in the state.
Speaker of the House, Danladi Jatau disclosed this during the matters of urgent public importance which were raised by the member representing Kokona East, Daniel Ogazi at the House of Assembly in Lafia, the state capital, on Monday.
Jatau, who lamented the negative impacts of illegal miners in the state, said the House was worried over the growing and increasing rate of illegal mining activities, especially in the Kokona LGA, thus creating tension over the safety of lives and properties of the affected communities.
He said, “Our resolution is to the effect that I want to appreciate His Excellency, Governor Abdullahi Sule for attracting investors to the state, and while he is doing that, we will not allow anybody to destroy such efforts.
“The position of the House is also that the Commissioner of Police should mobilise his men to flush out all illegal miners in the state.
“The issue is beginning to create tension across the state, hence the need for the security agencies to act fast and do the needful.”
Other members who made contributions on the matter include Solomon Akwashiki, Muhammed Omadefu, Onarigu Kana, Musa Ekye, among others.
Ogun communities receive N206m for infrastructure
The Ogun State Community and Social Development Agency, OGCSDA, has disbursed N206 million to 23 communities for the implementation of basic social infrastructure.
The communities cut across 17 local governments, including Kajola in Ewekoro, Opo in Ifo, Soseri and Ajebo town in Obafemi Owode, Itesi Ajabe in Odeda, Odo Otu and Idomila in Ijebu North East, Ayepe in Odogbolu, and Irolu in Ikenne local government areas.
Others include Ayila and Alo in Ogun Waterside, Ipara in Remo North, Ewujomo and Soyindo in Sagamu, Ado Odo in Ado-Odo/Ota, Afintedo and Alakuta in Imeko Afon, Ilujoda-Iboro in Yewa North, Ilobi Erinja and Ipake in Yewa South, Terelu in Ijebu East, Ifelodun Olomore in Abeokuta North and Ojowo-Odosenbadejo in Ijebu North LGAs.
The acting general manager of Ogun State Community and Social Development Agency, OGCSDA, AbdurRahman Adelaja, while presenting the cheques to the representatives of the communities, said the money was committed to Phase 1 of the Ogun State COVID-19 Action Recovery Economic Stimulus, OG-CARES programme.
Adelaja explained that the fund is meant for the execution of social infrastructure, ranging from health, education, water and sanitation.
TVN recalls that the programme, funded by the federal and state governments with the support of the World Bank, began in 2021, to cushion the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic among the people, specifically to restore the livelihood of the poor and vulnerable in society.
In his remarks, the Operation Manager of the agency, Olatokunbo Osinowo, urged benefiting communities to be diligent in the implementation of the projects, advising them to cooperate with the Community Project Management Committee and officials of the OGCSDA to achieve success.
Responding on behalf of other benefiting communities, Taiwo Oladele, representing the Ijebu North East Implementation Committee, appreciated the state government, the federal government and the World Bank for the prompt intervention and promised to be prudent while ensuring the proper execution and maintenance of the project.
Ogun communities receive N206m for infrastructure
Goods destroyed as midnight fire razes Anambra market
A yet-to-be-ascertained worth of goods and properties have been destroyed in a fire outbreak that occurred at the Kara Quarters Market, along the Atani Road in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State on Sunday night.
The cause of the fire outbreak is yet to be officially ascertained as of the time of filing this report, but our correspondent gathered from eyewitnesses that it could be a result of a power surge.
Although there was no loss of life, it was gathered that the fire which started at about 11:05 pm, took the intervention of the state fire service team several hours to quench and prevented it from escalating to the nearby church and a factory.
Some of the eyewitnesses present at the scene said the fire started from one of the shops and started escalating before the firefighters were called for intervention.
The source said, “We suddenly observed that thick smoke was coming out from one of the shops and shortly after, it resulted in a fire. We are suspecting it to be a result of a power surge because it occurred shortly after power was restored in the vicinity.
“A distress call was sent to the firefighters and it took them several efforts and interventions before the fire was put out. Although, some shops and properties were burnt in the inferno, some structures including a church and a factory nearby were also saved from being razed down by the sudden fire outbreak.”
A video from the scene of the fire incident also shows parts of the saved structures and factory, as well as eyewitnesses and traders recounting their losses.
The state fire agency confirmed the incident in a statement on Monday, adding that the distress call was received at about 11:14 pm on Sunday, and the firefighters, who were deployed fought the fire to a standstill, preventing it from escalating to other nearby structures.
The statement read, “As of the time of filing this report, the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, as none of the dwellers could give account of how the fire started.
“While the cause of the fire outbreak is yet to be ascertained, some properties were destroyed during the incident, although, there was no loss of life.
“The traders and dwellers were advised to always switch off their electrical appliances when not in use, fix wirings and connections to avoid power surges, and monitor cooking gas linkages in their homes, to avoid explosion.
“We consoled those who lost their property during the fire outbreak. There was no loss of life, nor injury recorded. The crew returned back to the station at about 01:30hrs.”
Iraq hangs 10 terrorism convicts
Iraq hanged 10 “terror” convicts on Monday, officials said, in the fourth such execution in three months, prompting a rights group to call for an end to the death penalty.
Courts have handed down hundreds of death and life imprisonment sentences in recent years to Iraqis convicted of “terrorism”, in trials rights groups have denounced as hasty.
Under Iraqi law, terrorism and murder offences are punishable by death, and execution decrees must be signed by the president.
A health official said 10 Iraqis “convicted of terrorism crimes and of being members of the Islamic State group were executed by hanging” at Al-Hut prison in the southern city of Nasiriyah.
A security source confirmed the executions.
They were hanged under Article 4 of the anti-terrorism law and the health department had received their bodies, the health official told AFP.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
Al-Hut is a notorious prison in Nasiriyah whose Arabic name means “the whale”, because Iraqis believe those jailed there never walk out alive.
Iraq has been criticised for the trials, with the “terrorism” offence carrying the death penalty regardless of whether the defendant had been an active fighter.
On May 31, Iraq executed eight people convicted of “terrorism”. Eleven people were hanged on April 22 and another such group was executed on May 6, security and health sources said.
In June, UN experts said they were “alarmed by the high number of executions publicly reported since 2016, nearly 400, including 30 this year.”
“When arbitrary executions are on a widespread and systematic basis, they may amount to crimes against humanity,” said the special rapporteurs including the expert on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary execution.
They added that according to official records, there are 8,000 prisoners on death row in Iraq.
– ‘Halt executions’ –
The experts urged Iraqi authorities to “halt all executions”.
They also said they were “horrified” by the high number of reported deaths in Nasiriyah prison due to “torture and deplorable conditions”.
The experts, who are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, do not speak on behalf of the United Nations.
Rights groups have also denounced the proceedings as rushed, warning confessions were sometimes believed to have been obtained under torture.
“Iraq’s continuous implementation of the death penalty — despite national and international outcry — means we could be hurdling toward a human catastrophe unfolding on its death row,” said Amnesty International’s Iraq researcher, Razaw Salihy.
She said Iraqi authorities “must halt executions immediately to address the gross injustices that landed thousands on death row and the horrendous conditions they languish in”.
The IS group overran large swathes of Iraq and neighbouring Syria in 2014, proclaiming its “caliphate” and launching a reign of terror.
It was defeated in Iraq in 2017 by Iraqi forces backed by a US-led military coalition, and in 2019 lost the last territory it held in Syria to US-backed Kurdish forces.
But its remnants continue to carry out deadly hit-and-run attacks and ambushes, particularly from remote areas and desert hideouts.
AFP
2024 UTME result slips available for printing — JAMB
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, on Monday, announced that the result slips for the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination are now available for printing.
The Board, in a statement signed by its Head of Public Relations, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, said the slips, which feature the candidates’ photographs and advanced security features, can be printed from approved Computer-Based Test centres starting from Monday, 22 July 2024.
“Please note that result slips cannot be printed from cyber cafes or other internet-enabled platforms.”
Benjamin further advised candidates to follow approved channels for printing to “avoid falling victim to fraudulent activities, such as attempted score inflation, perpetrated by individuals seeking to exploit this process.”
“It is important to note that candidates’ scores were previously released via the Board’s sort codes, so this physical copy serves as a secure and verifiable record of their results.”
The Board had earlier delayed the printing of the 2024 UTME result slips.
On 18 July 2024, JAMB disclosed that three candidates scored 367 during the 2024 UTME and emerged as the highest scorers for the examination.
This was revealed at the ongoing 2024 policy meeting by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board on Thursday in Abuja.
They are Olowu Joseph from Ondo State, Alayande David from Oyo State, and Orukpe Joel from Edo State.
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Advancing CCS at Olu Tee Engineering Limited, an initiative of Titilola Shawana
As concerns about climate change and environmental sustainability grow, innovative solutions are becoming crucial to mitigate the impacts of industrial activities. One such groundbreaking initiative is Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), a project spearheaded by the Director of Operations at Olu Tee Engineering Limited.
This article aims to demystify CCS, explaining what it is, how it works, and why it is important for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from industrial processes.
What is Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)?
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a technology designed to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions produced by industrial activities, such as power generation and manufacturing. The captured CO2 is then transported and securely stored underground, preventing it from entering the atmosphere and contributing to global warming.
How Does CCS Work?
CCS involves three main steps. They include capture, transport, and storage.
Capture: The first step involves capturing CO2 from industrial sources. This can be done using various methods. The steps are as follow:
Post-combustion capture: CO2 is captured after fossil fuels are burned.
Pre-combustion capture: Fossil fuels are converted into a mixture of hydrogen and CO2 before combustion, and the CO2 is separated.
Oxy-fuel combustion: Fossil fuels are burned in oxygen instead of air, resulting in a flue gas that is mostly CO2, making it easier to capture.
Transport: Once captured, the CO2 is compressed and transported to a storage site. This can be done via pipelines, ships, or trucks, depending on the location and distance.
Storage: The final step involves injecting the compressed CO2 into deep underground rock formations, such as depleted oil and gas fields or deep saline aquifers. These geological formations can securely trap the CO2 for thousands of years, preventing it from escaping into the atmosphere.
Why is CCS Important?
CCS is a critical technology for mitigating climate change for several reasons:
Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions by capturing and storing CO2 emissions, CCS helps reduce the amount of greenhouse gasses released into the atmosphere, which is essential for slowing global warming.
Supports Industrial Sustainability: Industries that are difficult to decarbonize, such as cement and steel production, can use CCS to reduce their carbon footprint without compromising their operations.
Enhances Energy Transition: CCS can be used in conjunction with renewable energy sources, providing a balanced approach to achieving net-zero emissions.
Promotes technological innovation: Developing and implementing CCS technologies drive innovation and can create new economic opportunities, such as jobs in the engineering and environmental sectors.
Advancing CCS at Olu Tee Engineering Limited
At Titilola Shawana’s Olu Tee Engineering Limited, the Director of Operations has been at the forefront of advancing CCS technology. Their initiative focuses on capturing CO2 emissions from industrial processes and securely storing them underground. By doing so, they aim to significantly reduce the environmental impact of these activities and contribute to a greener, more sustainable future.
The project is not just about implementing CCS technology; it’s also about educating stakeholders and the public on the importance of such initiatives. Through community engagement programs. Olu Tee Engineering Limited is raising awareness about the benefits of CCS and promoting a unique culture.
Advancing CCS at Olu Tee Engineering Limited, an initiative of Titilola Shawana
Court dismisses Abacha’s family N500m suit against FG
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed a suit filed by the family of the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, against the Federal Government on Monday. The case challenged the revocation of one of Abacha’s properties located in the Maitama District of Abuja.
While delivering judgment in the suit, Justice Lifu dismissed the suit for being statute-barred among other reasons.
The suit was filed in 2015, nine years ago by the family of the late military ruler where they demanded that the FG return their father’s mansion located at Osara Close in Maitama.
Today’s dismissal of the suit makes it the fourth time the Abacha family would lose legal battles on property.
The family previously lost twice at a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory and once at the Court of Appeal in Abuja on grounds of jurisdiction.
This occasioned the family to approach the Federal High Court to Institute a fresh case.
The family among others, prayed the court to nullify and set aside the revocation of the Certificate of Occupancy of the property of the late General Abacha.
The family contended that the C of O marked FCT/ABUKN 2478 covering Plot 3119 issued on June 25, 1993, was illegally and unlawfully revoked by the defendants in the suit on January 16, 2006, in breach of section 44 of the 1999 Constitution and section 28 of the Land Use Act.
The defendants in the suit are; the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Federal Capital Development Authority, President, Federal Republic of Nigeria and Salamed Ventures Limited as 1st to 4th defendants respectively.
The plaintiffs in their statement of claims argued that the FCT under Nasir El-Rufai had “between 2004 and 2005 instructed them to submit the Certificate of Occupancy in their possession for re-certification”.
The family claimed the 2nd plaintiff, Mohammed Abacha promptly complied with the directive by delivering the Certificate of Occupancy to the FCDA and an acknowledgement copy issued to him.
While waiting for a new Certificate of Occupancy to be issued to them, the plaintiffs asserted that “Mohammed Abacha received a letter on February 3, 2006, notifying them that the Certificate of Occupancy had been revoked without any reason stated in the letter and the adequate compensation not paid.”
On this note, the family asked the court to declare as unconstitutional, unlawful, illegal, null and void, the revocation of the property.
They also sought an order setting aside the revocation and holding that their Certificate of Occupancy is valid and subsisting.
The plaintiffs asked for an order of injunction prohibiting the defendants from taking any further steps on the disputed property and to also compel the defendants to pay them N500M as damages.
The defendants in their separate counter affidavits and preliminary objections asked for outright dismissal of the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/463/2016.
They prayed the court to grant them an N500M compensation against the FG.
Justice Lifu in his judgment, held that the plaintiffs have no locus standi (legal power) to institute the suit.
The suit was filed by Mohammed Abacha, the eldest surviving son of the former Military ruler and his widow, Hajia Maryam Abacha on behalf of the Executioners of the Estate of the late Military General.
Justice Lifu agreed with the 4th defendant that the cause of action arose on February 3, 2006, when the Certificate of Occupancy was revoked while the case was filed in May 2015, years after the revocation and far more than three months it ought to have been filed.
Besides, the Judge held that the plaintiffs lacked locus standi to file the case upon their failure to present as exhibits, their letters of administration to the Estate as required by law and as proof of their claim as the Administrators.
The 4th defendant, Salamed Ventures Limited represented by James Ogwu Onoja (SAN), had argued that the suit, at the time it was instituted had become statute-barred having not been filed within three months of the cause of action allowed by law and thus, robbed the court of jurisdiction.
He contended that “the suit was caught by the provisions of the Public Officers Protection Act and had become a mere academic exercise and asked the Judge to dismiss it for being frivolous and lacking in merit”.
He further argued that Salamed Ventures Limited became owners of the disputed property upon its purchase from the federal government at N595M and issuance of Certificate of Occupancy number 181dw-3adcz-721r-15a8-10 of May 25, 2011.
Justice Lifu agreed with Salamed Ventures that the Abacha property was lawfully revoked upon breaches in the covenants in the Right of Occupancy by erecting structures without first obtaining building plans.
He dismissed the suit and awarded a cost of N500,000 as the cost of litigation against the plaintiffs to be paid to Salamed Ventures.
Gunmen rob, kill businessman in Bayelsa
Gunmen, suspected to be armed robbers, on Monday robbed and killed a businessman in his office, opposite Ekeki Motor Park, Yenagoa.
The businessman, who simply identified as Cletus, was said to have been trailed to his office in the early hours and stabbed several times in the head until he died.
The assailants were said to have left with an undisclosed amount of money, his mobile phone and a Highlander jeep, packed opposite the office.
The News Agency of Nigeria correspondent, who visited the scene, saw neighbours mourning him.
His body was discovered by his workers who resumed duty.
The deceased, in his late 40s, was said to be a quiet businessman who had other businesses in the metropolis.
Spokesman, Police Command in Bayelsa, ASP Musa Mohammed, said investigation into the matter had begun, NAN reports.
(NAN)
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EFCC apprehends 10 suspected illegal miners in Oyo
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has detained ten individuals suspected of illegal mining activities in Ogbomoso, Oyo State.
According to a statement released on Monday by EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale, the suspects apprehended include Yunusa Adisa, Ganiyu Kazeem, Muideen Babayemi, Sulaiman Usman, Adeleke Waliu, Tiamiyu Rokeeb, Olusola Sunday, Oyedokun Oluwagbemiga, Sulaimon Ishiaq, and Olufimihan Eniola. They were apprehended with six trucks fully loaded with lithium.
Read also: Edo govt warns of nationwide crisis if APC interferes with September guber election
“The arrests were made based on credible intelligence regarding their alleged involvement in the illegal extraction and transportation of solid mineral resources, particularly lithium, to undisclosed locations,” Oyewale stated.
He further confirmed that the suspects will face legal proceedings once investigations are completed.
“We commend the Ibadan Zonal Directorate of the EFCC for their swift action in apprehending these suspects,” Oyewale concluded.
The post EFCC apprehends 10 suspected illegal miners in Oyo appeared first on Latest Nigeria News | Top Stories from TVN.
