News
Court rejects EFCC’s plea to play video against ex-NNPC GMD Andrew Yakubu
A Federal High Court, Abuja has rejected the request by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to play video evidence in the ongoing trial of the former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Andrew Yakubu.
Justice Ahmed Mohammed, in a ruling, dismissed the application on the grounds that Mr Yakubu was not the maker of the exhibits and as such, he could not be cross-examined based on those documents.
Justice Mohammed had, on June 30, fixed today for ruling on the anti-corruption agency’s application.
The agency’s lawyer, Farouk Abdullah, had sought an order of the court to play video documents which were tendered while taking the evidence of the sixth prosecution witness (PW6) on Oct. 17, 2018, and admitted in evidence by the court in cross examining Mr Yakubu, who was in the witness box as the first defence witness.
The court had marked the documents tendered as Exhibits ‘M’ ‘N’ and ‘N1’ while Exhibits ‘M’ and ‘N’ were compact discs, Exhibit ‘N1’ was a memory card.
Counsel to the defendant, Ahmed Raji, however, opposed the EFCC’s application.
Mr Raji had argued that the former GMD was not a maker of the exhibits which in the eyes of law were documents.
“This ought to have been done through the witness who produced the document (PW6) and who is the maker and who tendered exhibits in them,” he had said.
The senior lawyer also argued that allowing such application would be going contrary to “the directives of the Court of Appeal as to what is to be done in the suit.”
The EFCC lawyer also disagreed with Raji.
Mr Abdullah had enjoined the court to look at the provisions of the Evidence Act as to whether a counsel in a trial has a right to make use of exhibits already before the court at any stage of proceedings in determining an issue, particularly in cross examination.
He submitted that an exhibit already before a court could be used to either establish a fact or dispel a fact at any stage of a proceeding.
“It is a right that can be enjoyed by both prosecution and defence.
“We urge my lord to so hold and answer this in affirmative,” he had said.
The Judge, however, disagreed with the EFCC in his ruling.
Justice Mohammed also deferred the agency’s fresh application to recall two prosecution witnesses for a re-examination pending when Mr Yakubu’s cross-examination is completed.
Mr Abdullah had applied for a recall of two of the agency’s PWs in the trial following the court’s rejection of his request to play the video evidence.
But Mr Raji opposed the prayer, arguing that since the EFCC had called all its witnesses and closed its case, “recalling those witnesses when the defendant had already opened his defence and he is in the witness box will only interrupt the proceeding.”
He also argued that allowing the prayer would not be doing justice to the defendant who had been in the witness box for over a year.
He urged the court to defer the anti-graft commission’s application until his client’s cross examination is completed.
Ruling, the judge noted that the former GMD, who had been in the witness box as Defence witness 1 since July 8, 2020, had already given his evidence before the court.
Mr Mohammed held that it would be unfair to keep the defendant in the witness box for over a year and grant such prayer when the cross examination was yet to be completed
“Therefore, the application to recall two witnesses is defer until the DW1 cross examination is completed,” he ruled.
Mr Abdullah then applied for a short adjournment to enable him produce some documents which would be relevant in cross examining Mr Yakubu.
Mr Raji described the application as “a deliberate attempt to prolong the proceeding for reason known to the prosecution.”
He said in order to delay processing, the EFCC lawyer had been coming up with one application or another.
“My lord, I want it to be on record because if a defence counsel does this, especially senior lawyers, the same song will be ‘oh, they don’t allow criminal trials to move.
“My lord, a diligent prosecution would have come with everything,” he said.
Mr Raji, who said application for adjournment was lacking in merit, urged the court to refuse it.
“It is against the spirit of justice and Administration of Criminal Justice Act),” he said.
The judge said though the court was not inclined to granting the plea considering the time the exercise had taken, he adjourned the case until July 29 for continuation of the cross examination of Mr Yakubu.
According to reports, the anti-graft agency had, in 2017, raided the residence of the ex-NNPC boss in Kaduna and found 9, 772, 800 dollars and 74, 000 pounds (9.7 million dollars and 74, 000 pounds) in a safe.
Mr Yakubu was, however, arraigned on March 16, 2017 on six counts but the trial court struck out counts five and six.
The Court of Appeal also ordered the former GMD to defend only count three and four which bordered on failure to make full disclosure of assets, receiving cash without going through financial institution.
NAN
In a bid to promote food security and sustainable agricultural practices, the NNPC Foundation has successfully trained more than 3,000 farmers in the South-West geopolitical zone on climate-smart and modern farming techniques.
The training, which concluded on Friday in Ikorodu, Lagos, marked the end of the Southwest phase of the foundation’s pilot programme aimed at empowering local farmers and boosting agro-productivity.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, Managing Director of the NNPC Foundation, Mrs. Emmanuella Arukwe, described the initiative as a milestone in the lives of thousands of farmers.
“Today marks the formal conclusion of the first phase of a national journey that speaks to resilience, food security, and economic empowerment,” Arukwe said.
“What began as a bold decision to support small holder farmers has translated into tangible action across three geopolitical zones (South-East, South-South, and South-West) in Southern Nigeria.”
She disclosed that a total of 3,860 vulnerable farmers across 10 locations in the three regions were trained in sustainable farming practices that improve productivity and market access.
“This achievement is not just a number, but a milestone in the lives of real people and real communities. We were able to strengthen farmers’ capacity to adapt to climate change,” she added.
“Through the training, we were able to improve access to markets, promote inclusive agriculture and especially gender representation. We also trained them on enhancing food production through sustainable techniques.”
Arukwe noted that the programme would now move to the North-West, North-Central, and North-East zones as part of its next phase, saying the foundation is committed to supporting livelihoods nationwide.
“This is only Phase One. We will now turn our focus to the North-West, North-Central, and North-East zones. What we have achieved in the South will inform and strengthen our next steps,” she said.
“The NNPC Foundation will continue this mission, to support livelihoods, build resilience, and empower the hands that feed our families and beyond.
We have decided that most times you get a lot of requests from people asking us to give them palliatives and all kinds of things to help them.
But we think it is much better to teach people to fish than just give them fish so they can continue,” Arukwe explained.
Chairman of Ikorodu Local Government, Mr. Wasiu Adesina, while commending the initiative, urged the beneficiaries to apply the knowledge gained to boost productivity and profitability.
“As we all know, agriculture is the bedrock of any nation. Without agriculture, there will not be a nation, because there will be no food to eat,” Adesina stated.
“It is the farmers that produce our food, and it is important that we train our farmers with new techniques in agriculture, and that is exactly what the NNPC Foundation is doing.
“To the farmers, you have to take advantage of this training and face the farming squarely. In some great countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, farmers are the most richest people in those countries.
“This is because they make a lot of money from farming. We need to inculcate that habit in Nigeria and develop ideas in farming. Even after my tenure, I am going back to farming, so, maybe I will ask the NNPC Foundation to train me so that I also join you to be a farmer.”
He appealed to the foundation to provide further empowerment for the trained farmers to help them kickstart their agricultural ventures.
“If the farmers have land for farming, I believe the foundation will provide financial aid to keep their farms running,” Adesina added.
Also speaking at the event, the Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Ms. Abisola Olusanya, represented by the Director of Fisheries, Mrs. Osunkoya Daisi, lauded the Foundation’s efforts in bolstering the state’s food security.
“On behalf of the Lagos State Government, we would like to express our sincere appreciation to NNPC Foundation for training our farmers and for training all the farmers all over the country,” she said.
“Definitely, the training will help improve food production. We can see the impact of climate change effects in agriculture. I am sure farmers have been equipped with climate-smart agriculture techniques to improve production.”
The NNPC Foundation Ltd/Gte is the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited. It was incorporated in February 2023 to manage the company’s CSR initiatives and enhance Nigeria’s socio-economic development.
The National Universities Commission, (NUC), has given full accreditation to the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), for her Law programme.
According to the Public Relations Officer of ESUT, Mr Ikechukwu Ani, this is contained in a letter addressed to the institution’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Aloysius Okolie, on Wednesday in Enugu by the NUC.
Ani said that in the letter, the Executive Secretary of NUC, Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu said the report was contained in the result of the October/November 2024 accreditation of academic programmes in Nigerian universities.
Ani disclosed that other programmes in the institution accredited by the NUC include Master of Science in Business Management; Education Computer Science; Education Physics and Agricultural Engineering.
Other accredited programmes he said were Quantity Surveying; Urban and Regional Planning; and Applied Microbiology.
He said that the letter quoted Section 10 (1) of the Education National Minimum Standard and Establishment of Institutions, Act CAP E3, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 as empowering the NUC to lay down minimum academic standards for all academic programmes taught in Nigerian universities.
He said the session also empowers the NUC to accredit such programmes.
An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, on Wednesday, remanded two persons, Olaitan Fasasi and Kehinde Tobiloba in a correctional facility over alleged attempted murder.
Fasasi, 40, and Tobiloba, 26, whose addresses were not provided, are being charged with conspiracy, attempted murder and membership of a secret society.
The Magistrate, Mr L.A Owolabi, did not take the plea of the defendants for want of jurisdiction.
Owolabi directed the police to forward the case file to the Director of Public Prosecution for legal advice.
He thereafter adjourned the case until May 31 for mention.
The Prosecutor, Josephine Ikhayere, told the court that the defendants committed the offences at about 5.02p.m on Feb. 15, at Mushin, Lagos.
She said that Fasasi, Tobiloba and others now at large, attempted to commit murder by shooting at a resident, Alfred Ademola.
“They armed themselves with a locally made gun. They belong to Eiye Confraternity, a group proscribed by law,”, she said.
Ikhayere said that the offences contravened Sections 230(1) and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2012.
He said that the actions of the defendants also contravened Section 2(3)(a)(b)(c)(d) of the unlawful societies and Cultism Law of Lagos State Law.
Tinubu’s Democracy Day Honours: A Bold Nod to History, Justice, and Reconciliation
NITDA’s Digital Revolution: Catalysing Nigeria’s Renewed Hope Agenda Through Technology
NNPC Foundation Trains Over 3,000 Southwest Farmers in Climate-Smart Agriculture
Facebook, Instagram Temporarily Allow Posts on Ukraine War Calling for Violence Against Invading Russians or Putin’s Death
Nigeria, Other West African Countries Facing Worst Food Crisis in 10 Years, Aid Groups Say
New York Consulate installs machines for 10-year passport
-
Headlines3 years ago
Facebook, Instagram Temporarily Allow Posts on Ukraine War Calling for Violence Against Invading Russians or Putin’s Death
-
Headlines3 years ago
Nigeria, Other West African Countries Facing Worst Food Crisis in 10 Years, Aid Groups Say
-
Foreign3 years ago
New York Consulate installs machines for 10-year passport
-
News9 months agoZero Trust Architecture in a Remote World: Securing the New Normal
-
Entertainment3 years agoPhyna emerges winner of Big Brother Naija Season 7
-
Headlines1 year agoNigeria Customs modernisation project to check extortion of traders
-
Economy1 year agoWe generated N30.2 bn revenue in three months – Kano NCS Comptroller
-
Headlines12 months agoPhilippines’ Vice President Sara Duterte resigns from Cabinet
