50 federal lawmakers beg Tinubu to release Nnamdi Kanu
Photo Credit: P.m.news
50 members of the House of Representatives have pleaded with President Bola Tinubu to release the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu who is currently undergoing trial for treason.
Operating on the platform of the Concerned Federal Lawmakers for Peace and Security in the South-East, the lawmakers who are from different geo-political zones are asking Tinubu to invoke Section 174 of the Constitution of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Section 107(1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 to set Kanu free.
They further ask Tinubu to direct the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, to invoke his powers of nolle prosequi under the provisions of Section 174(1) of the Constitution and Section 107(1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, to discontinue Kanu’s trial and get him released.
The lawmakers say in a letter addressed to the President: “Your Excellency, we are concerned members of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with a strong belief and trust that the Renewed Hope agenda and the various positive reforms would be seen and felt by all. It is against this backdrop that we, the undersigned, hereby beseech Your Excellency to direct the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN, to invoke his powers of nolle prosequi under the provisions of Section 174(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Section 107(1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, and cause the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from detention and discontinue his trial.
Jonathan to declare 2024 NBA Law Week open in Bayelsa
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Former President Goodluck Jonathan is expected to grace the plenary session and declare open the 2024 Law Week of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, next Friday.
Addressing a press conference to mark the commencement of the 2024 Law Week, the Chairman of NBA Yenagoa Branch, Mr. Somina Johnbull, said yesterday that the choice of the former President in view of the broad theme of the Law Week is on the account of the foundation for the growth of the legal profession laid by him during his stint as Governor of Bayelsa State.
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Johnbull, who was flanked by other executives of the branch during the conference, said the theme for the 2024 Law Week, ‘The Legal Profession in a Time of Socio-Economic Uncertainty’ was carefully selected in the light of the harsh economic realities bedeviling the country.
He noted that the Law Week promises to be an illuminating time for legal practitioners and the legal profession.
PDP, lawyers step up opposition to emergency rule call
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The ongoing political crisis in Rivers State has taken a dramatic turn, with lawyers and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, weighing in on the call by the All Progressives Congress, APC, for the imposition of a state of emergency and installation of an interim administrator.
The latest crisis was stoked by the refusal of Local Government Area chairmen whose tenure had elapsed to leave office.
Their attempt to perpetuate themselves in office against the laws of the land had resulted in violent protests.
APC had on Wednesday called for a declaration of emergency rule in Rivers following what it described as the barrage of political crises currently tearing apart the political fabric of the state.
The demand was made in Port Harcourt by the party’s caretaker committee chairman in Rivers, Tony Okocha, during an interaction with journalists.
Okocha, who blamed the state governor, Siminalayi Fubara, for the unrest, said the state was at war, and the only way for residents to live in peace was for the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency.
“We are at war in Rivers State, and because the governor is unteachable, APC in Rivers State is calling for a state of emergency so that we can have peace in this state,” he said.
Recall that Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo on May 18, 2004, and October 19, 2006, imposed a state of emergency on Plateau and Ekiti states respectively. Citing Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution, Obasanjo suspended the elected governors, Joshua Dariye and Ayodele Fayose, and their State Houses of Assembly.
In contrast, President Goodluck Jonathan did not follow this precedent, instead, he retained all the state functionaries. Before the full declaration in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states in 2013 without sacking the governors and suspending democratic rule, Jonathan had declared a partial state of emergency in some Local Government Areas in Borno and Plateau states in 2011.
In a state overwhelmed by kidney disease, Buni’s free dialysis is saving millions of lives
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Governor Mai Mala Buni, in the last five years, has made significant strides in improving Yobe State’s health system, infrastructure, focusing on free dialysis to patients, roads and drainage construction, industries, building ultra-modern markets, model schools and vocational training centres to boost economic growth.
Despite limited resources at his disposal, Buni, while taking the mantle of leadership in his first year tenure, precisely on May 29, 2019, declared a state of emergency in the education, health and many other sectors, with the employment of more qualified teachers and medical personnel.
Recently, the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Baba Malam Wali, addressed journalists in his office in Damaturu the state capital, where he outlined the administration’s achievements over the past five years.
The SSG parley with journalists within and outside the state came after the Commissioner of Home Affairs, Information and Culture, Hon. Abdullahi Bego, and the Director General of Press and Media Affairs, Comrade Mohammed Mamman took journalists round projects executed by the administration across the 17 local government areas of Yobe.
In the health sector, our correspondent observed that, apart from the employment of health personnel, free dialysis has been offered to over 600 patients every month at Yobe State University Teaching Hospital (YSUTH) as approved by the governor.
This is because Yobe has the highest cases of kidney disease or renal failure in the country, as most of the communities on the shores of Yobe/Kumadugu River in northern part of the state suffer most.