By Ebere Agozie

The Federal Government says its partnership with the Hague Institute for Innovative Law (HiiL) will ensure unhindered access to justice by all Nigerians.

Mrs Beatrice Jedy-Agba, the Solicitor General of the Federation, made this known during a courtesy visit by the delegation from HiiL at her office in Abuja.

She reiterated the ministry’s unwavering commitment to foster strong partnerships and collaborations with critical stakeholders for improved access and affordable justice in Nigeria.

Jedy-Agba commended the passion and zeal demonstrated by the visiting team, led by Dr Sam Muller, Chief Executive Officer of Hiil towards enhancing access to justice with a people-centered justice approach.

She lauded the remarkable progress achieved by HiiL and expressed her commitment to sustaining the collaboration which the ministry has built with Hiil through cooperation that create innovative solutions that enhance easy and affordable access to justice for all.

Muller, expressed his gratitude to the Solicitor-General for the warm reception accorded to the visiting delegation.

He noted that Nigeria, through the support of the ministry has made remarkable achievement in creating access to justice, noting that a lot still need to be done towards making people-centred justice happen in Nigeria.

He emphasised the need for increased collaboration and partnership in delivering People-Centered Justice in Nigeria by both the Institute and the office of the Solicitor General.

“The HiiL methodology of people-centered justice approach is the innovation in justice delivery strategy being implemented already in Nigeria.

“This will be focusing on citizens’ needs and leveraging innovative solutions for transformative and inclusive outcomes.

The delegation formally presented the Justice Needs and Satisfaction (JNS) report by Muller to the Solicitor General. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

=========
Edited by Sadiya Hamza

By Patience Aliyu

Gov. Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau has described the verdict of the Appeal Court that nullified his election as a temporary setback.

The governor said this in a statement by his Director of Press and Public Affairs (DOPPA), Mr Gyang Bere, issued on Sunday in Jos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalled that the appellate court on Sunday set aside the judgment of the governorship election tribunal that upheld the election of Mutfwang as governor.

It declared Dr Nentawe Yilwatda of the All Progressives Congress (APC), winner of the governorship election.

The governor noted that the judgment would not deter his plans of repositioning the state towards steady growth and development.

Mutfwang expressed strong optimism that his mandate would be restored, adding that his legal team would immediately file an appeal at the Supreme Court.

“I want to assure the people of Plateau that the mandate they overwhelmingly gave me will be restored; I have instructed my legal team to file an appeal at the supreme court.

“I hereby admonish citizens of the state and supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to remain calm, for as long as God remains on the throne, the mandate of the people will not be tampered with.

“I want to also reiterate my commitment to the rule of law and assure you all that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

”I have unwavering faith in the judiciary and the Constitution of Nigeria,” he said.

The governor further appealed to the citizens of the state to be law abiding, adding that the judgment is a temporary setback.

“I want to strongly appeal to our supporters, as well as citizens of the state to maintain law and order as Plateau will be victorious.

“I reassure you all of my commitment to continually serve the state with dedication and integrity,” he assured. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

===========
Edited by Polycarp Auta

By Moses Omorogieva

The Inspector-General of Police (I-G), Mr Kayode Egbetokun, has enjoined the officers and men of the force to be agents of change in their respective positions.

Egbetokun made the call on Wednesday in Lagos, while inaugurating the Mopol 2 Administrative Building named after him in Ikoyi Lagos.

The I-G represented by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 2, AIG Ali Mohammed-Ari, said the construction of the building by the Commander of Mopol 2, ACP Matthew Obiuwevbi, was a great value added to the force.

Egbetokun said the project came at the right time, stressing that the building was an indication of an officer with a foresight.

“We are talking about what you can do to transform the NPF, I want to say that the building came at a very good time and inaugurating the project today is apt and gladdens my heart.

“This show clearly the difference between people that I considered with foresight and those that I considered as greedy and of course, not having a good sight.

“There are some of us that find it difficult to bring out one Naira from our pockets and to do anything that would add value to wherever they are,” he noted.

According to him, Obiuwevbi will be admired and celebrated because of the great project.

“With this building, he has written his name is the Guinness Book of the Force. Whether he is here, or transfered, or retired, those yet unborn that will join the Force in future, will see his name on the plaque.

“He has added value to his name, family, community, state and the Force.

“The inauguration of this project today is a wake up call for all of us that anytime we find ourselves in position, we should add value. The project is good enough to advertise,” he said.

Earlier speaking, Obiuwevbi said he decided to carry out the project with his officers and men with a view to have better office for all his men.

Obiuwevbi noted that the old building the Squadron shared with Mopol 23, was not big enough and cannot  accommodate over 50 officers and men under him.

He noted that some of the officers used to stay under the trees when not on assignment.

He said the new building constructed under 18 months with contributions by people of goodwill, has 10 offices, transit camp, conference room and administrative department.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that retired DIG Taiwo Lakanu, senior military officers from the Army, Navy and Air force were amongst the dignitaries in attendance at the event. (NAN) www.nannews.ng

Edited by Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

By Itohan Abara-Laserian

An Ikeja High Court on Monday released three men, Peter Edialu, Godspower Friday and Bayo Segun, after being in custody for six years without trial.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the men were facing charges bordering on sexual assault.

They were first arrested and charged in 2018, 2019 and 2019 respectively.

Justice Oyindamola Ogala told the court that after careful considerations of the motion papers before court, the court believed that it is in the interest of justice.

She, therefore, gave her separate judgements in the cases regarding the applicant defendants.

Ogala said: “The applicants should be released and discharged forthwith if there are no pending matters in other courts.”

Mr Ben Abraham, the Founder of Zarephath Aid, an Non-Governmental Organisation, the counsel to the applicants, while moving for the terms of motion dated Sept. 15 for the release of the applicant as stated in paragraph A, B and C in the motion papers.

Abraham, however, withdrew paragraph 4(b) and (e) requesting the Attorney General of Lagos State and the Commissioner of Police to settle the applicant with N5 million.

“The High Court here in Lagos granted the enforcement of the fundamental rights of these three applicants which we brought before the courts.

“They have been in detention for about six years. The oldest of them has been in Kirikiri correctional medium custodial center since 2018.

“For sexual offenses, they were awaiting the Department of Public Prosecutions advice since then, but nothing since then.

“When we got to the custodial centre and saw their plight, they were not even before any courts or having the opportunity to defend themselves. So we picked up their cases earlier this year.

“Today, the court upheld our submissions and application and directed that they be immediately and unconditionally released from custody after about six years without trial,” he said.

Abraham added that these cases were just a few of the very sad and unfortunate set of circumstances facing the judicial system.

The applicants had sued the Attorney-General of Lagos State, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, and the correctional services.

The state prosecution, representing the first respondent in the matter did not object to the motion papers.(NAN) www.nannews.ng

Edited by Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

By Chinyere Omeire

The State and National Assembly Appeal Court in Lagos has upheld the election of Peter Mbah as the Governor of Enugu State.

The Appellate Court, in a unanimous decision, dismissed three issues raised by the opposing party.

The three-member panel, led by Justice Tani Yusuf-Hassan, concluded that the Labour Party (LP) and its governorship candidate failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove that Mbah was not qualified to contest the election.

Regarding the allegation of over-voting, Justice Hassan stated in her lead judgement that the “Voters’ Register” was not presented before the lower tribunal.

She, therefore, said that failure to submit the voters’ register rendered the appeal inadmissible.

The court also determined that the witnesses presented by the Labour Party did not sufficiently prove the existence of over-voting in the governorship election.

Consequently, the appeal dismissed thd case for lacking merit, affirming the judgement of the election tribunal, which declared Peter Mbah of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the March 18 governorship election.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Mbah as winner of the March 18 governorship election with 160,895 votes.

Edeoga of the LP came second with 157,552 votes, while Frank Nweke of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) polled 17, 983 votes to claim third place.

Dissatisfied with the results, Edeoga and his party filed a petition, challenging Mbah’s victory, asking they should be declared as the winners, claiming they had the highest valid votes.

The petitioners also raised concerns about the alleged forgery of a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate by Mbah.

However, the Enugu State governorship election petition tribunal ruled in favour of Mbah, stating that he met the minimum requirements for the election, which include possessing a school certificate or its equivalent.

The tribunal rejected Edeoga’s witnesses, adding that the petitioner did not present any admissible evidence to prove that Mbah’s certificate was forged. (NAN)

Edited by Olawunmi Ashafa

By Ebere Agozie
Mrs Beatrice Jedy-Agba, the Solicitor-General, on Wednesday called for a multi-sectoral approach in the fight against cybercrimes in the country.
Jedy-Agba, who is the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, made the call at the opening of a three-day Cybercrimes Awareness Camping on Thursday in Abuja, organised by the ministry in collaboration with the US Embassy in Nigeria.
“The ministry in its effort to combat cybercrimes has put together this awareness campaign to identify some incidents that mighty compromise the rule of law, and undermine the trust of citizens in the justice system.
“There is the need for the criminal justice sector to stay ahead of emerging cyber threats and adopt best practices to ensure the secure and reliable access to justice delivery that is consistent with the ideals of democracy and rule of law.
“In today’s digital age, legal professionals, judges, and law enforcement agencies depend on secure digital infrastructure to effectively carry out assigned tasks.
“Hence, the importance of cybersecurity cannot be overstated, especially in the context of the criminal justice system and access to justice since robust and secure cyber environment is crucial for the effective functioning of the system.
According to her, ‘the federal government will continue to build capacity to be able to effectively fight Cybercrimes.
“The global nature of this menace sometimes described as phenomenon without borders” makes it imperative for governments to seek to build capacity to be able to effectively combat it and this includes awareness creation.
“This revolution in information technologies has changed society fundamentally and will probably continue to do so in the foreseeable future.
“Informational technology has in one way or the other pervaded almost every aspect of human activities: the dark side to this is the emergence of new types of crimes as well as the commission of traditional crimes by means of the new technologies which challenge existing legal concepts,” she said.
Also speaking, Mr Ola Olukoyede, the Chairman of EFCC called for corresponding action from the administration of criminal justice players sector to ensure safety of Nigerians in the cyberspace.
Olukoyede was represented by Sylvanus Tahir, the Director, Legal and Prosecution Department of the EFCC.
“The ease and speed at which cybercrimes can be committed is not only disturbing but calls for corresponding action from the administration of criminal justice players sector to ensure safely of Nigerians in the cyberspace.
“This fact underscores the relevance of this awareness program as it is a demonstration of the seriousness the organizers place in the fight against cybercrime in Nigeria”.
He said that the agency had successfully investigated and prosecuted several cases of cybercrime and had so far recorded 395 convictions in Advanced Fee Fraud cases and 1084 cybercrimes convictions this 2023 and still counting.
“This statistics is a clear indication that a lot has to be done in combatting cybercrime in the nation and there is an urgent need to rev up efforts in this regard.
“The EFCC under my leadership is committed to ensuring the due and timely enforcement of all cybercrime laws in the nation.
“We are equally open to collaborations towards the realization of this mandate to rid the nation of economic and financial crimes including cybercrimes,” he said.
Some of the dignitaries represented at the event were the National Security Adviser/Chairman Cybercrimes Advisory Council, the Inspector General of Police, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy.
Others were the Chairman, Senate Committee on ICT and Cybersecurity, Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency, Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Mater Commission among others. (NAN)

=======
Edited by Sadiya Hamza

By Taiye Agbaje

The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Thursday, ordered the remand of a Bayelsa Blogger, Mr Saint Onitsha Mienpamo, in Kuje Correctional Centre following his arraignment on alleged cyber bullying.

He was arraigned for allegations bordering on defamatory publications against the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Major General Barry Ndiomu (Rtd).

Justice Emeka Nwite, in a ruling after Mienpamo took his plea, directed the defendant to be remanded in the correctional centre until Dec. 4 when the trial would commence.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that while the Inspector-General (I-G) of Police is the complainant in the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/492/23, Mienpamo is the sole defendant in the application dated Oct. 13 and filed on Oct. 16.

Mienpamo, who operates a blog, Naijalivetv.com, is standing trial on three-count charge bordering on alleged willful libel, threat, causing danger and insult against the PAP interim administrator.

When the case was called, the prosecution counsel, N.O. Eleodimio, told the court that the matter was slated for plea and that they were ready to proceed.

Mienpamo, however, pleaded not guilty to all the counts after they were read to him.

His lawyer, Terungwa Ananbe, told the court that a bail application had been filed on Mienpamo’s behalf.

But Justice Nwite said the application was not in the court records, hence, he cannot hear an application that he had not seen.

The judge consequently adjourned the matter until Dec. 4 for trial.

Mienpamo, the self-acclaimed ex-agitator, in one of the counts, is accused of sending a message/post by means of computer system network via his Facebook page ‘Mienpamo Onitsha Saint’ which he knew to be false for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, ill-will and needless anxiety to Maj-Gen. Ndiomu (Retd).

The offence is punishable under Section 24 (1) (b) of the cyber crime (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act 2015.(NAN)(www.nannewd.ng)

==========
Edited by Sadiya Hamza