Author: Lawbreed Limited

INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu says cases in courts arising from the conduct of primaries for the nomination of candidates by political parties are increasing. Mr Yakubu disclosed this at the capacity-building workshop for justices and judges on election matters in Abuja on Monday. The chairman said INEC was joined in about 600 cases relating to primaries and candidates’ nomination by political parties for the 2023 general elections. Mr Yakubu said INEC had studied the various judgments of the tribunals arising from both the 2019 general elections, the off-cycle governorship elections and the by-elections conducted so far. “We identified areas where…

A High Court sitting in Abuja has convicted the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, of contempt of court. The conviction was in relation to the failure of the anti-graft agency to comply with a November 21, 2018 court order directing it to return a Range Rover and the sum of N40 million to the applicant in a suit. In his ruling, Justice Chizoba Oji held that, “The Chairman Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is in contempt of the orders of this honourable court made on November 21st 2018 directing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,…

Olukayode Ariwoola, chief justice of Nigeria (CJN), has sworn in 307 judicial officers to preside over petitions which will arise from the 2023 general election. Pursuant to sections 285(2) and (3) of the 1999 constitution and section 130 of the Electoral Act, 2022, Monica Dongban-Mensem, president of the court of appeal, has the power to set up election tribunals. At the swearing-in ceremony on Monday, Ariwoola urged the judicial officers to conduct themselves professionally. “Your lordships should count yourselves worthy to be so entrusted with this humongous responsibility of deciding the fate of those that would be contesting elections into…

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has designated MTN, Airtel, and money deposit institutions in Nigeria to withhold Value Added Tax (VAT) levied on all taxable supplies made to them and remit to the Service. This information can be found in a public notice that the FIRS published on November 7 and was signed by Muhammad Nami, its Executive Chairman. The notice outlined the requirements of both businesses and their suppliers with relation to the withholding of value-added tax. “This Notice is given to all persons carrying on trade, profession or business of any kind, tax practitioners and the general…

The Vanguard for the Independence of the Judiciary (V4IJ), a foremost think tank on judicial matters in Nigeria has admonished members of the Edo State Judicial Commission (JSC), to follow due process and merit in the appointment process for would-be Judges in Edo State , currently on going. In a statement issued in Abuja on Friday the 28th of October, 2022, the President of the Vanguard, Douglas Ogbankwa Esq., on behalf of members of the platform which cut all across Nigeria stated thus: “The Vanguard for the Independence of the Judiciary(V4IJ), is not unaware of the undercurrent and intense intrigues,…

DRAFT AGREEMENT FOR LASTING PEACE THROUGH A PERMANENT CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA AND THE TIGRAY PEOPLE’S LIBERATION FRONT (TPLF) PREAMBLE Agreeing to peacefully resolve the violent conflict that erupted on November 3, 2020, in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia in a manner consistent with the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; Recognizing the destructive consequence of the conflict between the two Parties on human lives and livelihoods; Affirming that political problems can only be sustainably resolved through political means; Reiterating the Parties’ commitment to the African Union’s Agenda of Silencing the Guns by…

Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) has announced the opening of its first office in Lagos, Nigeria. Disclosing this in a statement on Wednesday, the company said the new office was part of its support for the growing number of customers and partners in Nigeria. AWS is a subsidiary of Amazon, an American e-commerce company, that provides on-demand cloud computing platforms and APIs to individuals, companies, and governments, on a metered pay-as-you-go basis. The development is Amazon’s latest investment in Africa, and it comes five years after its first office was opened in Johannesburg in 2017. The e-commerce company said the…

For the second day in a row, activities at the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos are crippled following a power blackout. Our correspondent reports that the court has been in darkness since Wednesday morning following the non-supply of electricity to the facility. Some cases slated for hearing Wednesday and Thursday, could not go on as the atmosphere was inconducive for some judges. Despite the poor lighting nevertheless, some judges, court officials, lawyers and litigants carried on proceedings. However, most of the judges and lawyers took off their wigs and gowns – compulsory courtroom attire – during proceedings, because of…

The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Terhemba Tsoho has constituted a special task force of Judges to swiftly hear and determine all Pre-election cases before it. This was contained in a Press release signed by Assistant Director Information, Catherine Oby Christopher today Tuesday November 2, 2022. According to the Chief Judge, the move became necessary so as to designate a team of Judges to rid the court of large volume of pre-election suits that have flooded it. According to the circular, Judges who are members of the Task Force will suspend all regular cases in their…

On May 31, 2022, the President of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) issued a practice direction known as “NICN filing of Applications/Motions in Trade Union Matters and Marking of Exhibits Practice Direction No.1, 2022.” (The Practice Direction). The Practice Direction applies to all causes and matters before the Court and became effective on June 13, 2022. In the coming months and years, issues addressed in the Practice Direction are bound to come up for adjudication. This article is basically a review of the provisions of the Practice Direction. The work finds that paragraph 3(1) of the Practice Direction…