Author: Lawbreed Limited

A military court in Burkina Faso on Wednesday handed down a life prison term to former President Blaise Compaore over the 1987 assassination of foremost revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara. Applause erupted in the courtroom as the long-awaited verdict was read out, bringing the curtain down on a case that has afflicted the impoverished and volatile state for 34 years. Compaore, who lived in exile in Ivory Coast after being toppled by public protests in 2014, and Kafando, who had been on the run since 2016, were tried in absentia. The court also issued life terms to Hyacinthe Kafando, an officer…

Justice Taiwo Taiwo of a Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday dismissed a suit seeking the removal of Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State. The Peoples Democratic Party had taken Ayade to court seeking an order directing him and his Deputy, Ivara Esu, to vacate office following their defection to the All Progressives Congress. Ayade who was elected on the platform of the PDP in 2015 defected to the APC on May 20, 2021, along with his deputy. The PDP in the suit asked the court for “a declaration that in view of the provisions of section 221…

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) says it will institute criminal prosecution against any digital money lender whose conduct is in violation of extant laws. Babatunde Irukera, the Executive Vice Chairman of the FCCPC, said this in a document signed on behalf of the Joint Regulatory Task Force (JRTF) addressing ‘loan sharks’ in Abuja on Monday. Mr Irukera said the Commission would also hold employees, collaborators or agents of money lenders accountable in line with extant laws in the event of any conduct violation. He disclosed that some money lenders under investigation and whose accounts were frozen had…

The Kano State High Court in Kano has convicted two civil servants, Helen Odey and Zainab Musa, for fraudulently securing employment through impersonation and forgery. The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) disclosed in a statement on Monday that the court convicted the two defendants on three charges of conspiracy, impersonation and making false statements to a public officer. The judge, Dije Aboki, sentenced Ms Odey to two years’ imprisonment, and Ms Musa to six months’ jail term, according to the statement by ICPC’s spokesperson, Azuka Ogugwa. The commission accused them of impersonating Hussienat Ahmed to secure employment with the Kano…

A former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Michael Aondoakaa, has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja for a review of an earlier judgement which barred him from occupying public office in Nigeria. Mr Aondoakaa, who was the AGF between 2007 and February 2010 during the late Umar Yar’Adua administration, argued in his fresh suit that the judgement barring him from public office was fraudulently obtained. The Calabar division of the court in Cross River State, had in 2010, declared Mr Aondoakaa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), unfit to hold public office on account of his…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced plans to penalise Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) over the inclusion of mutilated notes in their deposits with the apex bank. The CBN made this known at the weekend in a circular signed by Ahmed Umar, director of the currency operations department at the bank. Mr Umar said the new directive took effect from April 1. The bank expressed worry over the increase in the number of composed banknotes in circulation. Composed banknotes are mutilated currency notes that consist of several parts of different banknotes of the same denomination. The parts of such…

Kidnappers in Ogun State have freed a police officer, Kamarudeen Bello, after collecting N700,000 ransom, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt. The armed men abducted Mr Bello, a police inspector, around 8 p.m. last Sunday at a mosque in Soyoye, Rounder, in Abeokuta north local government area of the state. The kidnappers also took away two worshippers at the mosque. A police officer told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Bello’s wife delivered a baby four days before her husband was kidnapped. “After he was abducted alongside two others, the kidnappers called to demand N5 million ransom for the release of each of the…

A new international travel guideline has been issued by the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19, removing mandatory Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing for fully vaccinated visitors and stiff penalties for unvaccinated travellers violating the new rules. According to the ‘Provisional Travel Protocol for Travelers Arriving Nigeria’, issued on Sunday morning by the Chairman of the PSC and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, the new guideline, which takes effect from Monday, April 4, 2022, also prescribes sanctions for airlines that bring violators of the new rules. Mustapha said that the new guideline prescribed for…

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has indicted Google for obstructing efforts aimed at tracing the owners of illegal online money lenders engaged in consumer rights violations in Nigeria. The Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, FCCPC, Mr Babtunde Irukera, made the allegation at a collaborative engagement with the media in Lagos. He said that Google has been uncooperative in the commission’s efforts to enforce the withdrawal of applications (Apps) being used by the money lenders from its Play Store, even when evidence of inappropriate use of the Apps has been established. Recall that FCCPC raided the offices of…

A man from west London who was convicted of inciting racial hatred for posting messages on social media encouraging violence in Nigeria has been jailed. The Met’s Counter Terrorism Command launched an investigation in March 2019 as a direct result of members of the public raising concerns to police about online social media posts which contained comments aimed at particular ethnic groups based in Nigeria. The posts were created by accounts under the name “Adeyinka Grandson” and were reported to police via the online reporting tool www.gov.uk/ACT. This material was assessed by specialist officers within the Met’s Counter Terrorism Internet Referral…