07/06/18

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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.
A teenage girl has sacrificed her life to save her younger sister from falling down a North Carolina waterfall in the United States (U.S.), during the July 4 holiday.
H’Money Siu, 16, of Charlotte, and her sister, 11, had fallen into a river 120 to 150 feet above Rainbow Falls in Transylvania County, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman said.
She tried to help her younger sister get out of the river, but fell down the waterfall.
An older family member managed to grab the other girl, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman said.
Multiple news outlets reported the fall occurred around noon.
More than 40 agencies, including forest services and multiple volunteer fire departments, aided in the search for the girl’s body.
About 100 people were evacuated from the river below the falls during the search.
Divers recovered the body around 5 p.m. from a pool about 25 feet deep.
Siu’s accident marks the sixth waterfall-related death in western North Carolina this year.
Safety officials have urged visitors and hikers to exercise caution around the dangerous falls.
Rainbow Falls are about 150 miles from Siu’s family’s home in Charlotte. They are originally from Vietnam.
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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.


President Muhammadu Buhari has said that his administration remains committed to the rescue of the remaining Dapchi school girl, Leah Sharibu, who is still being held captive by Boko Haram Insurgents, as well as the other Chibok school girls.

The President gave the assurance on Friday while speaking at the Nigerian Army Day celebration 2018 in Monguno, Borno State.

“I want to use this opportunity to reassure the world, Nigerians and the families of the remaining kidnapped Chibok girls and Leah Sharibu of the Dapchi School girls that this administration will not relent in our efforts to see that they are all released,” he said.

On the increased herdsmen/farmers crisis, President Buhari also stated that efforts are on to bring an end to the killings.

“I also want to assure all Nigerians that the issue of farmers and herdsmen clashes is being tackled and all those found culpable will be brought to justice”.

He, however, urged Nigerians to remain “tolerant, loving and ready to give peace a chance”.

“None of our religions or cultures accepts killing of people for any reason whatsoever. We must all rise as one to condemn this vile and wicked acts to ensure that all the culprits are brought to justice,” he said.


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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.

A Delta State High Court sitting in Ozoro has sentenced a former Education Secretary of Bomadi Local Government Education Authority, Mr Tom Kelekumor, to five years imprisonment for employing his daughter, Miss Preye Tom, into the service of the Local Government Education Authority.

Spokesperson for the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Mrs Rasheedat Okoduwa, revealed this in a statement on Friday.

The ICPC had accused Kelekumor of violating Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, by using his position to confer an unfair advantage upon his relation.

The offence is also punishable under the same section.

Justice Briki Okolosi then sentenced the accused to five years imprisonment.

The judge also ruled that the convict would serve his terms without any option of fine in accordance with the act.

In the one count, Kelekumor was charged with, the ICPC said that the convict gave employment to his daughter, who was then a Senior Secondary Two (SS2) student, into the local government service, knowing fully well that she was at the same time a full-time student.

Miss Tom was employed as a Messenger on Salary Grade Level 02 by her father in July 2003 while she was still a student of Tamigbe Grammar School, Toru-Tamigbe in Delta State.

The charge sheet read in part: “Abayomi Tom Kelekumor, while being a public officer to wit: Education Secretary in Bomadi Local Government Council of Delta State in the month of July, 2003 or thereabout did confer unfair advantage upon his daughter, Miss Tom Preye, when he employed her as a messenger on Grade Level 02 while she was still a student of Tamigbe Grammar School, Toru-Tamigbe, Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State.”

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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.
Former Benuw Governor, Gabriel Suswam

The Federal Government has arraigned a former governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam, before a court in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

Suswam was arraigned in court on Friday on three counts of illegal possession of firearms.

He was arraigned two weeks after the Department of State Services (DSS) arrested him allegedly over security issues in Benue.

An aide to the former governor, who confirmed the arrest to Channels Television, had claimed that the arrest was consequent to a petition by the Benue State Governor, Mr Samuel Ortom.

But the state government issued a statement through the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Terver Akase, to counter the claims.

“We wish to categorically state that Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, did not write a petition which led to the arrest of former governor of the state, Gabriel Suswam,” the statement had read.

In February 2017, the DSS said it arrested Suswam after its operatives uncovered a large cache of arms and ammunition from a property allegedly linked to the former governor in Abuja.

The agency had disclosed in a statement that the arrest followed a tip-off that some incriminating items were stashed in the boots of cars parked at the property.

Items recovered by the security operatives during the raid included a glock pistol with two magazines and a total of 29 rounds of ammunition; a mini-uzi with two magazines containing 10 rounds and four rounds respectively; 42 extra rounds of ammunition contained in a pack, and one Ak-47.
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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 Supreme Court has upheld the appeal of Senate President Bukola Saraki and discharged him of the remaining three charges against him in the case of false declaration of assets.

The court upheld the appeal in a lead judgment delivered by Justice Centus Nweze on Friday in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

Senator Saraki had filed an appeal at the apex court to challenge the ruling of the Court of Appeal which asked the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) to try him on three of the 18 counts brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Delivering judgment on Saraki’s appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal, the apex court held that the prosecution failed to call material witnesses to support its case against the Senate President.

The court agreed that all those who have knowledge of facts were not called to testified in the matter and held that those who tendered documentary evidence against Saraki during the trial were not makers of the document, hence, their evidence on the documents were hearsay and lacked probative value.

The Supreme Court also held that the Court of Appeal made a caricature of its judgment when it found as a fact that the entire evidence presented by the prosecution was hearsay and manifestly unreliable and still went ahead to agree that prima facie case was established against the Senate President in three out of the 18 charges.

Justice Nweze the ruled that there was no basis for the Court of Appeal to have asked Saraki to defend himself on the three charges, having found the entire evidence of the prosecution as a product of hearsay,
He added that the action of the Court of Appeal amounted to forensic summersault and capable of making Ill of jurisprudence.

“This court will not lend its jurisdiction to such a charade and caricature of justice. It carries grave error in holding that a prima facie case has been established against the appellant,” the court held.

“The prosecution is duty bound by law to call all key witnesses to be able to establish prima facie case against anybody,” it added.


In all, the five-panel of the apex court in the unanimous judgment agreed that the failure of the Federal Government to call vital witnesses in the trial of Saraki was fatal and rendered the trial nugatory.

The court dismissed the entire 18 charges brought against Saraki by the Federal Government and consequently discharged and acquitted the Senate President accordingly.

In June 2017, the CCT quashed an 18-count of false asset declaration and money laundering levelled against the Senate President by the EFCC for lacking in merit.

The tribunal had also agreed with the Senate President that he had no case to answer.

While the appeal court agreed in part with the lower court in its ruling on January 14, 2018, it held that Saraki had a case to answer in counts 4, 5, and 6, which had to do with his purchase of properties in the Ikoyi area of Lagos State. LR News
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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.

Maritime Legal Practitioners on Thursday advised cargo owners in Nigeria to use shipping companies that have emergency fund for support in the case of bankruptcy.
Some of the legal practitioners, who spoke at the closing ceremony of the 15th edition of the Maritime Seminar for Judges held in Abuja, urged cargo owners to investigate the viability of the companies.
Mrs Oritsematosan Edodo-Emore, an International Maritime Lawyer, said that a lot of lessons were learnt from the Hanjin shipping company, the largest shipping company in the world that fell into bankruptcy.
She said that cargo owners should always ensure that outside the insurance of cargoes, they investigate that the carrier has sufficient fund against insolvency.
“As the result of the bankruptcy of the Hanjin shipping company last year, it has brought a lot of lessons for cargo owners.
“ Before cargo owners use a carrier that will carry their cargoes, they should investigate that that carrier is sufficiently buoyant and it belongs to an alliance.
“ Alliance is a group of shipping companies that decide to carry a container for each other, they should find out whether that alliance has an emergency fund.
“In case, one of the companies becomes bankrupt, whether there is a fund that can support the problem of bankruptcy,“ she said.
However, Mr Femi Young, Chairman of Sun Logistics and Marine Services, United Kingdom, said that cargo owners should always investigate the viability of shipping companies before using them.
He said that Nigerian government could have a regulatory body that would investigate shipping companies annually, to enable cargo owners know the right carrier to use.
“Government should have a regulatory body that will annually; investigate shipping company to know which ones are viable.
“Some alliance have being set up, this alliance are group of shipping company that come together like a family, that if something happen to one of the company others will help.
“And out of those alliances, it is only one that has an emergency fund against insolvency.
“What am saying is that, maybe one of the rules that we should have is that, we should only use a shipping company that has emergency fund for insolvency,“ Young said.
Justice Olayinka Faji, Federal High Court, Lagos, said an importer is expected to know the statue of his carrier at the time of loading or before loading.
He said that the carrier has to be properly checked out and the contract of sale must be binding in terms of insurance stating that shipping companies needs to be monitored.
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