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Edeoga’s petition against me hopeless throw it out – Peter Mbah urges Tribunal
The Enugu State governor, Barr. Peter Mbah, has urged the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Enugu to dismiss the petition filed against him by the Labour Party and its governorship candidate, Chijioke Edeoga, saying the petition was hopeless, weak, lack substance and an abuse and waste of court time.
Mbah, in his final written address, demonstrated that Edeoga’s petition was ill-fated to be dismissed from the beginning since the petitioners could not provide any shred of evidence in support of the grounds of their petition.
Edeoga had approached the tribunal in April to challenge the March 18 gubernatorial election that brought the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate to power on the grounds of alleged NYSC certificate forgery and election rigging.
However, during trial at the tribunal, the petitioners had failed to prove that the 3rd respondent, Mbah, forged and presented the alleged discharge certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
While urging the court to dismiss the petition before it, Mbah said what Edeoga had succeeded in doing was to waste the resources and time of the court in a voyage doomed to fail as he had neither been able to demonstrate forgery nor rigging against him.
In his final written address, the governor acknowledged the right of the petitioners as citizens to approach the court, but said they ought to have known that they could not procure justice through emotion, sentiment and hearsay evidence.
Quoting a plethora of decisions of the supreme court, Mbah said during the cross examinations, all the witnesses called by Edeoga and the Labour Party only tendered hearsay evidence which is generally inadmissible in law.
He took his time to make mockery of all the hearsay evidence presented to the court by the petitioners, pointing out the major inconsistencies, lapses and conjectures of the petitioners’ witnesses which make the petition dead of arrival.
Recall that some of the witnesses subpoenaed by Edeoga and Labour Party had testified against them at the tribunal affirming that there was neither over voting, BVAS bypass, computational errors of the election figures nor evidence of certificate forgery as against the claims of the petitioners.
For instance, the Enugu State Labour Party Chairman, Barr. Casmir Agbo, who testified for Edeoga, had during cross examination, affirmed that Mbah was qualified to contest the election as NYSC certificate was not a prerequisite for the office of the governor in line with the provisions of section 177 of the constitution.
Agbo further told the tribunal that the governor is a lawyer, who had his Law degree from London, an evidence that Mbah was qualified and would have no reason to submit a forged NYSC discharge certificate not intended by the constitution as a requirement.
Edeoga had also called the NYSC Director of Certification, Ibrahim Muhammad, who only told the tribunal that Mbah was duly mobilised and remobilized for the scheme but could not confirm that the NYSC issued his certificate.
The NYSC Director had failed to tender any document in support that it did not issue Mbah’s discharge certificate or any other certificate it had prepared for the 3rd respondent.
However, in a swift response, the INEC official called by the petitioners informed the tribunal, under cross examination, that the certificate was sent to the NYSC for certification as a public document emanating from the scheme, and that the NYSC duly affirmed its ownership by its certification.
Calling his witness, Mbah had the Nigeria secret police, State Security Service (SSS) testified on its covert investigation indicting the NYSC and its officials of compromise, shaddy job and witch-hunt.
The SSS Deputy Director, Mr. Yahaya Isa Mohammed, who informed the tribunal, under cross examination by the petitioners’ lawyers, that he was in court with the knowledge and approval of the Director General in honour of the subpoena issued by it, said its investigation revealed that Mbah served and was issued with the NYSC discharge certificate in his possession by the scheme.
On the issue of over voting and rigging, Edeoga and Labour Party admitted that most of the witnesses they called were not party accredited agents but insisted they were their members who were informed by those at polling units what happened during the election.
Senior lawyers who have been keenly monitoring the proceedings predicted that Edeoga’s petition is doomed to suffer dismissal from the tribunal up to the supreme court for lack of merit and dearth of evidence except justice is subverted overnight through corrupt means.
“See, I respect the lead counsel of the petitioners, Chief Awomolo SAN, and I would not want to pre-empt the decision of the tribunal as a senior lawyer. However, I have gone through the petition, reply, and final written addresses of the parties. With due respect, the matter will be dismissed for lack of evidence. It shouldn’t have found its way to the tribunal in the first place. It’s an abuse of the court process. Anything short of the above would mean that corruption has been incentivized,” a Lagos based senior lawyer and human rights activist said.
A Nigerian cleric wanted by Cameroonian authorities has gone into hiding after a mummified body was discovered buried beneath a concrete slab at a property linked to his church in Yaoundé.
Cameroon Tribune reports on Tuesday that the body was found on September 19 at about 9am by officers of the Nkoabang Special Police Station during an ongoing investigation involving Kedi Samuel Kenechukwu, also known as Ekedi Samuel.
Kenechukwu is the founder of Mercy of God Ministry and is currently wanted by security authorities over allegations including human trafficking, arrest and kidnapping.
Several Cameroonian news outlets have reported on the case, with Camer.be describing Kenechukwu as “a Nigerian prophet operating in Cameroon since 2018.”
According to Cameroon Tribune, investigators discovered a white-and-gold coffin buried about 1.5 metres beneath a concrete slab at the property in Nkoabang.
The body was described as being in a state of mummification.
“The lid is broken. Inside, a body, a lady at first sight, dressed in a traditional blue outfit with gold embroidery, in a state of mummification, rests on a padding. This is not a normal grave,” the newspaper said.
Cameroon Tribune reported that the discovery was made after residents vandalised parts of the property, leading investigators to uncover the concealed underground area.
At the time of the newspaper’s report, security officers were still awaiting authorisation to conduct further searches of the site for possible remains.
The identity of the deceased and the circumstances surrounding the death had not been established.
The discovery came about 10 days after a search of the same Nkoabang property on September 9.
During that operation, investigators reportedly found five vehicles, several hundred kilogrammes of food, functioning freezers and about 30 rooms on the property.
They also discovered a pit about two metres deep, although its purpose had not been established at the time.
The Nkoabang investigation followed an earlier operation at a property associated with Mercy of God Ministry in Ngousso, Yaoundé, on September 6.
Twenty people — 10 women, eight men and two children aged six and seven — were reportedly found in a basement at the property.
The discoveries prompted security agencies to investigate other locations allegedly connected to the ministry.
Kenechukwu remains at large, with Cameroonian authorities reportedly alerting border police and involving Interpol in efforts to locate him.
The investigation into the activities at the properties and the circumstances surrounding the newly discovered body is ongoing. (PUNCH)
The Vice Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Rabiu Kwankwaso, has said a government led by the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, would reintroduce fuel subsidy, but through a different approach.
Kwankwaso, a former Kano State governor, said this during an interview with Arise News while discussing fuel pricing and the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
He said the NDC would seek ways to reduce the cost of petrol for Nigerians, including increased investment in domestic refining.
“No, no, no, look. We are bringing subsidy in our own way,” Kwankwaso said when asked whether the party’s position on subsidy would affect its campaign in the North-West.
Explaining the proposed approach, he said government could establish more refineries to boost local production and reduce dependence on imported petroleum products.
According to him, the expansion of domestic refining capacity would help ensure that Nigerians can purchase petrol at what he described as a reasonable price.
“Now, if individuals in this country could build refineries, I see no reason why government, under certain circumstances, will not build a refinery or refineries to the extent that we achieve the minimum requirement,” he said.
Kwankwaso said the NDC would prioritise measures aimed at lowering fuel prices.
“What is the minimum requirement? The minimum requirement is for the people across the country to go to the filling stations and buy fuel at a reasonable price,” he added.
“We, in the NDC, will do whatever it takes, really, to put the price of oil down.”
The NDC chieftain also criticised how Tinubu removed the petrol subsidy shortly after assuming office in 2023.
He noted that the major presidential candidates in the 2023 election had supported subsidy removal but faulted Tinubu for implementing the policy immediately.
According to him, the decision was taken without adequately addressing the consequences associated with subsidy removal.
“And not only he decided to remove the subsidy, what he did was to remove it immediately — in fact, day one — without looking at all those possible issues that were associated with that,” Kwankwaso said.
…moves online services to www.enuguairlines.ng
Enugu Air has announced the launch of its new official website, enuguairlines.ng, as part of efforts to provide passengers and customers with a better, safer and more convenient digital experience.
The airline said the migration to the new website is designed to improve how passengers connect with Enugu Air and access its services online, including flight bookings, schedules and the latest updates.
Announcing the development, the airline said: “We’ve moved! We’re innovating! We’ve migrated to a better, safer and convenient website to connect you to the world.”
Passengers can now access Enugu Air’s online services through its new web address, enuguairlines.ng, which the airline described as its new digital home.
The airline urged passengers and prospective travellers to save the new web address and use it for flight bookings, checking schedules and obtaining the latest information about its operations.
“Same Enugu Air. New web address,” the airline stated, emphasising that the change represents an improvement in its digital platform while retaining the Enugu Air brand and services.
The airline further encouraged customers to visit, www.enuguairlines.ng for all flight-related information and online services.
It further stated that the old website, enuguairlines•com has been discarded and no longer in use.
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