Anambra poll: Court remands INEC official in police custody

By -
(Nigeria) A Wuse Zone 2 Chief Magistrate Court, Abuja, on Monday, ordered that an Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC official for Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Chukwujekwu Okeke, 54, be remanded in police custody till December 2.
The Chief Magistrate, Mr Usman Shuaibu, ordered that the accused be remanded till December 2, after he was arraigned on a charge of negligence of duty, to enable the police complete its investigation on the matter.
He also said that the accused’s application for bail would be considered on that day.
Earlier, the prosecutor, Dsp Stanley Nwodo, from the Force CID, said that on November 16, the accused unlawfully breached his official duties at Idemili, where he was deployed.
Nwodo informed the court that the accused deliberately withheld electoral materials designed for the elections, thereby, breaching electoral procedures.
He prayed the court to give the police 14 days to enable it complete investigation into the matter.
Nwodo said that the accused, who pleaded not guilty, was standing trial on a one-count charge of dereliction of duty contrary to Section 123 (1) (2) and (3) of the Electoral Act, 2010.
The counsel to the accused, Mr Daniel Nwogbodo, applied for bail for his client under Section 341 of the Criminal Procedures Code and Section 36(5) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
The sections, which highlight bail as a right of a citizen, say that an accused is considered innocent until otherwise proven.
Nwogbodo told the court that his client was a senior civil servant and a responsible family man and would not jump bail if granted.
He also said that his client had a health condition (high Blood Preasure), which started deteriorating in Awka where he was held in police custody before being transferred to the force CID in Abuja.
Nwogbodo also told the court that his client would not jeopardise police investigation.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

UBTH @50: Obaseki hails institution’s role in strengthening Edo healthcare

By -
Image
(Nigeria) Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, has commended the staff and management of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, UBTH, for their unwavering commitment, dedication, and hard work in providing high-quality healthcare services to the people of Edo State and Nigeria in the past fifty years. Obaseki, at a dinner organized in honour of the Committee of Chief Medical Directors of Nigeria, at the Government House, Benin City, reassured the government’s continuous partnership and collaboration with the federal government-owned health institution to strengthen the health system and ensure quality health delivery to Edo people. The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Philip Shaibu, reeled out the gains of the government’s reforms in the health sector, commending the medical centre for bolstering the government’s efforts at transforming Edo State into a health hub. He said, "We came into a wilderness where you have to cut a part for yourself and fix it. We held...
Read more

Osun: S'Court ruling affirmed power resides with the people - Diri

By -
Image
*Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri (Nigeria) Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has said the ruling of the country’s apex court on the Osun State governorship election was an affirmation that power in a democracy resided with the people. Governor Diri, while congratulating Senator Ademola Adeleke in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, on Wednesday, expressed joy that the Supreme Court sealed the mandate freely given to the governor by the Osun people. The Bayelsa governor also said the verdict reflected the current mood of the country where those whose stock-in-trade is to promote electoral violence and subvert the will of the people have no place in our electoral system. He expressed the hope that introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, will instil more confidence in the electoral process, urging the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to deepen Nigeria’s democracy by also introducing electronic votin...
Read more

NBC has no powers to impose fine on broadcast stations --Court

By -
Image
(Nigeria) The National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, has been restrained by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, from imposing fines on broadcast stations in the country. Trial judge in the matter, Justice James Omotosho also set aside the N500,000 fines imposed on March 1, 2019, on each of 45 broadcast stations. The court made the orders in its judgment a suit by the Incorporated Trustees of Media Rights Agenda, MRA, which had sued the NBC. Justice Omotosho held that the NBC, not being a court of law, had no power to impose sanctions as punishment on broadcast stations. The court further held that the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, which gives the commission the power to impose sanction, is in conflict with Section 6 of the Constitution that vested judicial power in the court of law. He said the court would not sit idle and watch a body imposing fine arbitrarily without recourse to the law. He said that the commission did not comply with the law when it sat as a complainant and at...
Read more