Author: Lawbreed Limited

Hon. Justice Polycarp Hamman of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Portharcourt Judicial Division has dismissed the preliminary objection filed by Seateam Offshore Ltd in a matter brought by Akuroma Stephen for lacking merit. The Court voided section 2(3)(c)(d)&(r) of the Admiralty Jurisdiction Act 2004 for being inconsistent with the constitutional provisions vesting the court with exclusive jurisdiction over labour and employment-related cases. Justice Polycarp held that with the coming into effect of the 3rd Alteration which is now section 254C of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, the argument of the Seateam Offshore Ltd challenging the jurisdiction of the Court…

History has given us not only the court system, but a bizarre and far from self-evident system of naming judges. Some judges are pompous enough to take umbrage if you get it wrong: certainly, it does not give a judge confidence that you know what you are doing if you get it wrong or depart from convention. You may well think that a judge who takes umbrage over this sort of thing is a silly old …. You will be right – but your job is to represent your client so there is no point in annoying the old codger.…

Judge Julia Sebutinde of Uganda has been elected Vice President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for a three-year term, the United Nations’ highest court announced Tuesday. Sebutinde has served on the 15-member panel of judges at the ICJ since 2012. Prior to her election, she was a judge at the U.N.-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone from 2005-2011. Established in 1945, the ICJ settles legal disputes between states and gives advisory opinions on legal questions proposed by U.N. organizations. Commonly known as the World Court, it is seated at the Peace Palace in The Hague. As Vice President,…

A federal high court in Lagos has quashed a money laundering charge preferred against Adesola Amosu, a former chief of air staff, and two others. In 2018, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) re-arraigned the defendants on an amended 13-count charge bordering on money laundering to the tune of N21 billion. The defendants were alleged to have conspired and converted funds belonging to the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to personal use. One of the counts reads: “That you, Air Marshal Adesola Amosun Nunayon (Retd.), Air Vice Marshal Jacob Bola Adigun, and Air Commodore Gbadebo Owodunni Olugbenga, on or about…

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Adegoke Fayoade, in conjunction with the Legal Aid Council with support from the RoLAC 2 program and Duty Solicitors Network (DSN); on January 31, 2024 inaugurated the Police Duty Solicitors Scheme Advisory Committee in Lagos State. The State Coordinator Legal Aid Council Mrs. Iyabo Akingbade while giving the overview of PDSS; said the scheme is an intervention conceptualized to protect the rights of Suspects and Detainees through the provision of early legal advice and representation at the Police Stations. This intervention is expected to decongest courts and correctional Facilities. The scheme has the…

The Court of Appeal, Abuja has ordered the First City Monument Bank (FCMB) to pay the sum of N540 million damages awarded against it for alleged defamation of Prophet Emmanuel Omale and his wife, Deborah. Recall that Justice Yusuf Halilu of a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court had, in a judgment on Oct. 4, 2022, awarded the sum against FCMB. Justice Halilu held that the bank recklessly breached the duty of care it owe to Omale of the Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministry, his wife and the church. The judge agreed that the bank made a false claim…

The Ekiti State Police Command has arrested one suspect linked to the killing of two traditional rulers in Ekiti State last Monday. The Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Dare Ogundare, said that the suspect, Babusa Lede, had confessed to involvement in the killing of the two monarchs, adding that efforts were on to apprehend others involved. The traditional rulers, the Elesun of Esun Ekiti, Oba David Babatunde Ogunsakin and the Olumojo of Imojo-Ekiti, Oba Samuel Olusola, were killed by the gunmen; while the Alara of Ara (Ikole), Oba Sunday Fatoba, escaped being killed during the attack along Oke Ako-Irele Road. Ogundare,…

Matthew Kukah, Catholic Bishop of Sokoto diocese, has received his Mundo Negro Fraternity Award for his work with the Kukah Centre. Kukah received the award on Saturday in Madrid, Spain’s capital. Enrique Bayo Mata, a priest of the Comboni Missionaries and director of the Madrid-based Spanish Magazine, Mundo Negro, had informed the Kukah Centre of the award. Every year, the magazine organises the encounter with Africa during which the Award is given to a chosen African personality or institution that has stood out for their contribution to a better world and a better African continent. Atta Barkindo, executive director of…

An actress, Oluwadarasimi Omoseyin, has been sentenced to six months in jail by Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos for stepping on and spraying the new Naira notes at a social gathering in Lagos. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) reported her conviction in a statement on its X page on Thursday. The anti-graft agency said: “She was first arraigned on February 13, 2023, by the Lagos Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on two-count charges, to which she pleaded “not guilty”. She was subsequently granted bail on February…

The manager of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board Computer-Based Test (JAMB CBT) has been arrested and detained for allegedly participating in an online discussion with a 15-year-old candidate while utilizing information obtained during her exam registration. The situation was exposed when the candidate’s mother, who had registered her daughter using her phone number, received inappropriate messages on her device shortly after the registration procedure A social media post by the candidate’s mother accused JAMB of incompetence and a lack of data protection, sparking an investigation. According to the mother’s statement, the CBT manager got the phone number from the…