03/22/18

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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.


Suspected Herdsmen have killed two persons and injured several others in Benue State.

The incident occurred on Thursday morning when some of the farmers went to get food from their farms around Umenger Community in Guma Local Government Area of the state.

The Chief Press Secretary to the state governor, Terver Akase, however, confirmed the attack by herdsmen.

He said, “We condemn this unwarranted attack, we expect that the killers will be apprehended by security agencies and brought to justice”.

This attack follows a few weeks after 24 persons were killed when suspected herdsmen attacked Omusuvillage in Okpokwu Local Government Area of the state.

The attack left about 20 victims in critical conditions at the hospital while food crops and houses were reportedly burnt down by the assailants.

State Governor, Samuel Ortom had called for the arrest and prosecution of the assailants.

He described the attack as unfortunate, saying such barbaric act was unacceptable in the 21st century.

The governor, however, reiterated his call for the arrest of the leadership of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore whom he accused of sponsoring suspected herdsmen militia.

He had also directed the State Emergency Management Agency to immediately provide relief materials to the displaced persons while appealing to the community not to embark on any form of reprisal.

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The Senate on Thursday confirmed three nominees for appointment as members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Those confirmed for the appointment are Prof. Adeola Adenikinju, Dr Aliyu Sanusi and Dr Robert Asogwa.
The confirmation followed the consideration and adoption of the screening report of Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the committee was mandated on March 14 to screen the nominees following President Muhammadu Buhari’s request that they be confirmed.
Presenting the report during plenary, Chairman of the Committee, Sen. Rafiu Adebayo, said that it recommended the rejection of one of the nominees, Dr Asheikh Maidugu.
According to Adebayo, the committee was dissatisfied with his response to the dependence required for each member of the MPC.
“The committee is concerned that a regular civil servant laden with bureaucracy may not be independent in his judgment on each crucial decisions of the MPC that affect directly the whole economy.’’
Also, the senate confirmed the nomination of Mrs Aisha Ahmad and Mr Edward Adamu for appointment as deputy governors of the CBN.
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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.

Centre for Citizens with Disability (CCD), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NG0), has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari not to deny or delay assent to the Disability Bill whenever it is transmitted to him by National Assembly.
Executive Director of the centre, Mr David Anyaele, made the appeal at a stakeholder’s forum on Thursday in Abuja, to examine the state of the bill at the National Assembly.
President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, had on February 28, promised to ensure that the bill was transmitted to the president within 30 days for his assent.
Anyaele said that it was the intention of the group to ensure that the bill become a law in order to guarantee full integration of people-living-with-disabilities into the society.
He commended the House of Representatives for adopting the conference report on the bill.
“We also thank the senate for its commitment to get the report of the conference committee adopted within 10 days.
“We use this opportunity to appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the Disability Bill as soon as it appears in his office.
“It is only by assenting to the bill that we can create access for people with disability to benefit from this government,’’ Anyaele said.
According to him, it is imperative to assent to the bill because section 42 of the 1999 Constitution is silent on the issue of disability.
Anyaele decried a situation where traditional beliefs and practices had continued to stigmatise those living with disability.
He said that the practices were preventing people with disability from participating on equal bases with other members of the society.
“More than 25 million Nigerians are living with one form of disability or the other with more than 80 per cent of them living in rural areas with limited access to social infrastructure.
“Only eight of the 36 states in the federation have disability bills, thereby making Nigeria a difficult terrain to dwell with disability.
“People with disability have been clamouring for protection from harmful practices, discrimination and all forms of abuses,’’ Anyaele added
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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.


The Federal Government has taken a swipe at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), following the release of the Dapchi schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram terrorists.

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, faulted the party’s reaction to the girls’ release on Thursday in a statement by his media aide, Segun Adeyemi.

The abducted girls regained freedom on Wednesday, more than four weeks after the insurgents invaded the Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, in Yobe State.

Of the 110 girls snatched by Boko Haram on February 19, the government said 104 were returned by the terrorists with six unaccounted for.

In its reaction, the PDP accused the Federal Government and the All Progressives Congress (APC) of ‘scripting’ the abduction of the schoolgirls.

The party had also called on the United Nations and the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the incident, which it said was a scripted drama by the APC in the bid to seek re-election in 2019.

Mr Mohammed, however, condemned the claim by the opposition, saying such postulation portrays the PDP as an “inhuman, insensitive, unpatriotic and unworthy party”.

He said since the release of the Dapchi girls were negotiated by friendly countries and reputable international organisations, it would have taken a conspiracy of global proportion to have stage-managed the adoption and release of the girls.

The minister noted that the PDP’s reaction amounts to an expression of sour grapes, alleging that the party failed – when it was in power – to quickly resolve a similar abduction of schoolgirls.

“As we have said many times since the abduction of the Dapchi schoolgirls, no government is exempted from its own share of tragedies,” he said. “What makes the difference is the way such tragedies are managed.”

“Whereas it took the PDP all of 18 days to even acknowledge the abduction of the Chibok girls in 2014, the APC Federal Government acted promptly and responsively when the Dapchi schoolgirls were abducted on February 19, 2018, hence their quick release,” Mohammed added.


He further claimed that the party that failed when it was in power has also failed as an opposition, going by its response to the release of the Dapchi schoolgirls – a development he said calls for a non-partisan celebration.

According to the minister, “In its 16 years in power, the PDP redefined governance as cluelessness, massive looting of the public treasury and crude exhibition of power. In its over three years in opposition, the PDP has again shown it does not understand the role of the opposition in a democracy.”

“How then can the PDP convince Nigerians that it has learnt its lessons and that it is ready to rule the country again? he questioned.

Mohammed explained that the Federal Government has ignored statements from the PDP because the party has failed to learn the ropes of being an opposition party.

He, however, said the government broke its own rules because “the PDP over-reached itself and scored an own goal at a time it could simply have congratulated the government and people of Nigeria on the release of the girls or just keep quiet.”

The Minister assured Nigerians that the Federal Government would intensify the ongoing efforts to secure the release of the remaining Chibok girls and return them safely to their families.

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John Yusuf, one of the six federal civil servants facing prosecution for allegedly stealing N32.8 billion of police pension fund has gotten a respectable punishment for his offence as the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, sentenced him to six years imprisonment with a fine of N22.9billion.

The court gave the ruling on Wednesday, five years after Yusuf was convicted and sentenced to an aggregate fine of N750, 000 by a Federal Capital Territory High Court presided over by Justice Abubakar Talba, a development which sparked national and international outrage.

Spokesman for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Wilson Uwujaren, revealed this in a statement dated March 21, 2018.

According to him, the ruling by the appellate court is the climax of the appeal by the anti-graft agency which, dissatisfied with the decision of the trial court in a plea bargain agreement on April 26, 2013, approached the appellate court to set aside the judgment of the lower court.

The five grounds of the appeal, bordered on the exercise of discretion of the judge in imposing sentence on the respondent who pleaded guilty to the three charges (counts 17, 18 and 19 of the charge), in which he admitted converting an aggregate sum of over N24billion of Police Pension fund into his personal use.

The appellant in its brief of argument dated and filed on September 17, 2013, formulated one issue, for determination by the Appeal Court, which is: “whether the trial judge exercised his discretion judicially and judiciously when having convicted the respondent of three counts of conversion of over N3billion contrary to section 309 of the Penal Code, His Lordship imposed two years imprisonment with an option of fine of N250,000 on each of the three counts”.

However, the respondent on June 10, 2015, raised a preliminary objection on the competence of the appeal for which they argued that the notice of appeal was filed outside the mandatory 90 days and, therefore, in contravention of section 24(2)(b) of the Court of Appeal Act, 2010 (as amended) and, therefore, urged the court to dismiss the appeal.


Uwujaren said the justices of the Court of Appeal, dismissed the preliminary objection on the grounds that; “Having considered the computation of time volunteered by both parties, the question to be answered was whether the day the judgment of the trial court was delivered was to be inclusive in the computation of the mandatory 90 days for which a notice of appeal was to be filed?

“That the day the judgment of the trial court was delivered being the 28th, January 2013, was not to be included in the computation of the 90 days.

“That since the day of the judgment is not included, the 90 days starts running from the 29th January 2013 and the 90th day will fall on a Sunday.

“That by virtue of section 15(2) of the Interpretation Act CAP 123, where the last day is a holiday, the counting shall continue until the end of the next following day which is not a holiday.

“That since the 90th day was a Sunday and by virtue of section 15(5) of Interpretation Act, a Sunday is a holiday, the next day which the notice of appeal was filed is within time, hence the appeal is competent and is therefore allowed”.

Ruling on the substantive matter, the justices of the Court of Appeal held unanimously that the three counts involving the respondent (counts 17, 18 and 19) clearly stated the amounts for which the appellant alleged that the respondent converted for his personal use.

They also held that the respondent pleaded guilty to the three counts and thereby admitted to the conversion of an aggregate sum of about N24billion to his personal use.

The justices noted further that the sentence of the trial court does not serve as deterrence to both the convict and others.

They consequently ruled that the sentence is “Hereby quashed and deserves to be reviewed as follows: on Counts 17, the respondent is hereby sentenced to two years imprisonment with an addition of fine of N20billion Naira; on Counts 18, the respondent is hereby sentenced to two years imprisonment with an addition of fine of 1.4billion Naira; on counts 19, the respondent is hereby sentenced to two years imprisonment with an addition of fine of 1.5billion Naira”.

The sentence of imprisonment is to run consecutively, and the fine is to be cumulative.

In a related development, the EFCC spokesman revealed that the Supreme Court on March 9 dismissed the appeal by Onyia Ifeanyi, seeking to upturn his conviction and sentence to seven years imprisonment.

Uwujaren recalled that the earlier ruling was delivered on November 28, 2013, by the Federal High Court Enugu presided over by Justice M.L. Shuaibu (as he then was) for the offence of obtaining by false pretence and being in possession of documents containing false pretence.

Dissatisfied with his conviction, the appellant had lodged an appeal against it at the Enugu Division of the Court of Appeal, which affirmed the decision of the trial court.

Still not satisfied with the decision of the appellate court, the convict proceeded to the Supreme Court.

The apex court in a unanimous judgment on March 9, also affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal. LR News
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Reports say that Federal Government has applied to the Federal High Court in Abuja for an order of temporary forfeiture of about 22 properties allegedly owned by Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu.
According to the Nation, the houses are located in Abuja, London, the United States and Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Those in Abuja
•No. 11, Evans Enwerem Street, Apo Legislative Quarters, Apo, Abuja.
•Plot 2633 Kyami, Abuja.
•Housing Estate (Plot 1106 CRD, Cadastral Zone 07-07, Lugbe, Abuja.
•Plot 2782 Asokoro Extension, Abuja.
•Houses at Citi Park Estate, Gwagwalada, Abuja.
•Plot 1474 Cadastral Zone BD6, Mabushi, Abuja.
•Congress Court, Abuja.
•Flat 1, Block D25, Athletics Street, (24th Street) Games Village, Abuja.
•Plot 66, 64 Crescent, Gwarimpa Estate, Abuja.
Those in London
•Flat 4 Varsity Court, Harmer Street, WIH 4NW, London.
•52 Ayleston Avenue, NW6 7AB, London.
In Dubai:
•Room 1903, The Address Hotel, Downtown Dubai.
•The Address Boulevard, 3901, Dubai
•2 Flats of Burij Side Boulevard (the signature), Dubai
•Emirate Gardens Apartment No. EGG1/1/114, Dubai.
•Emirate Gardens Apartment No. EGG1/115, Dubai.
•Apartment No. DFB/12/B 1204, Park Towers, Dubai.
•Flat 3604, MAG214, Dubai.
•Villa No 148, Maeen 1, The Lakes Emirates Hills, Dubai.
4) In USA:
•4507 Stella Street, Bellavida Estate Kissime, Florida, USA.
•2747 Club Cortile Circle, Kissime, Florida, USA.
•2763 Club Cortile Circle, Kissime, Florida, USA
The Federal Government listed the properties declared by Ekweremadu in his assets declaration form of June 5, 2015, as contained in Schedule A to its application to include:
•5 Bedroom Duplex & Boys Quarters, House A40 Apo Quarters, Apo, Abuja (purportedly acquired with a loan of N13.5 Million from Bank PHB);
•10 Bedroom House with Guest Chalet & Boy Quarters, 2 Jim Nwobodo Street, Apo, Abuja (purportedly acquired with a mortgage loan of N412, 200, 000.00 from Aso Savings & Loan);
•7 Bedroom House with Pent House & Boy quarters, Plot 147A Mabushi, Abuja (purportedly valued at N3, 471, 922.1 acquired with salaries & allowances);
•2 RM Apartment, MAG 214 Dubai (purportedly bought for $ 50,000.00);
•4 Bedroom Town House, The Lake Dubai (purportedly bought for $20,000.00);
•4 RM Town House, Florida (he claims he bought this House from a loan of $155,000.00 gotten from PHB)
•Plots 2 & 10, Republic Layout, Enugu (undeveloped land, purportedly valued at N4 Million);
•Plot 1518, Maitama Extension, Abuja undeveloped land (purportedly valued at N10 Million);
•Plot 2882, Asokoro Extension, Abuja (purportedly valued at N13 Million);
•2 RM Apartment, Burjside Boulevard, Dubai, UAE (he claims he bought it for $250,000.00);
•One Room Apartment, Emirate Garden, Dubai, UAE (He claims he bought it for $60,000.00);
•Park Tower, Dubai, UAE (He claims he bought it for $250,000.00);
•3 Room Town House (2), Club Corticle, Orlando, USA (he claims he bought this property for $200,000.00);
•4 Room House, Plot 1496 AI Thannyah, Fourth, Dubai, UAE (he claims he bought this property for $250,000.00);
•4 Bedroom Terrace House, Games Village;
•6 Bedroom Storey House & Boys Quarters, Amachara MPU, Enugu;
•4 Bedroom House and Boy Quarters, Federal Housing Estate, Enugu;
•3000 Square Meters of undeveloped land at Amachara, MPU, Enugu;
•5 Hectares of land, Tutu District, Abuja.
The government also gave details of Ekweremadu’s investments in and outside the country to include:
•5, 100,000 – Citi Park Luxury Hotels Ltd (purportedly valued at N350 Million);
•8, 000, 000 – Prime & Power Media Ltd ((purportedly valued at N30 Million);
•300,000,000 – Bety Air Ltd ((purportedly valued at N5 Million);
•40, 000 – Prime & Power Konsult Ltd ((purportedly valued at N42 Million);
•50,000 – Power Properties Ltd (purportedly valued at N50 Million);
•70,000 – Spider Construction Ltd (purportedly valued at N35 Million).
In his assets declaration form on June 1, 2007, Ekweremadu was said to have declared the properties and investments listed below:
•4 Bedroom Terrace House, Games Village, Abuja
•A Storey Building at Amachara (MPU) (Country home)
•A Storey Building & Boy Quarters with Boys Quarters at Federal Housing, Enugu;
•Apo Legislative Quarters, Apo, Abuja;
•2644.60 Square meters of undeveloped Land at Asokoro, Abuja;
•1000.577 Square meters, Kurubuma Layout, Abuja
•3000 Square meters, Amachara MPU.
•40, 000 – Prime & Power Konsult Ltd (purportedly valued at N40 Million);
•50,000 – Prime Properties Ltd (purportedly valued at N50 Million);
•70,000 – Spider Construction Ltd (purportedly valued at N36 Million)
The ex-parte application was filed on Wednesday by the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property (SPIPRPP).
It accused Ekweremadu of breaching the Code of Conduct for public officers by allegedly failing to declare about 22 properties in his last assets declaration form.
The application filed pursuant to Sections 330 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act; 8 of the Recovery of Public Property (Special Provisions) Act and Section 44 (2)(k) of the Constitution, seeks mainly an order for interim forfeiture of the properties to the Federal Government. LR News
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A 30-year-old driver, Saheed Akinyemi, who allegedly assaulted a policeman and tore his uniform, was on Wednesday arraigned at an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court.

Saheed was also accused of conducting himself in a manner likely to cause a breach of public peace by resisting arrest.

The defendant, who resides at No. 1 Afisuuru Close, Mosalashi, Lagos, is facing three counts bordering on assault and breach of peace.

According to the Police prosecutor, Sergeant Nomayo Kenrich, the defendant committed the offence on February 8 at 1.30 p.m. at Jankara Ijaiye, Ojokoro, a Lagos suburb.

“The defendant assaulted Sergeant Omuh Benjamin, the Police officer attached to Ijaiye Ojokoro Police Station, by hitting him with elbow on the face while performing his lawful duties,’’ the prosecutor said.

He said the defendant “willfully tore” the uniform of the officer following the disagreement.

According to the prosecutor, the defendant was using a vehicle to tow a Toyota Camry car suspected to be stolen when the officer stopped him for questioning, but he refused.

“The defendant refused to stop for questioning. In the process, the rope connecting the two cars snapped.

“The officer demanded the vehicle particulars and tow permit, but he was attacked by the defendant,” the prosecutor said.

He said the offence contravened sections 168 (d), 174 (b) and 350 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 (Revised).

Section 174 (b) stipulates three years’ imprisonment for assault, while Section 350 prescribes a fine of N45,000 or three-month imprisonment for contempt on uniforms.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The Magistrate, Mrs E. Kubeinje, granted the defendant N50,000 bail with one surety.

She adjourned the case until May 30 for hearing. LR News

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