News & Announcements

Prince Harry has faced a setback in his attempt to make private payments for police protection as his legal challenge was rejected by a judge.

The Duke of Sussex had sought a judicial review after his security arrangements changed following his departure from royal duties. However, the court ruled against proceeding with the hearing.

The Home Office had opposed the idea of allowing wealthy individuals to “buy” security services from the police.

Prince Harry’s lawyers argued that provisions in legislation permitted payment for “special police services,” asserting that it was not inconsistent with public interest or confidence in the Metropolitan Police Service.

The legal dispute centered around the decision-making process of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec), responsible for security arrangements for high-profile figures, including senior royals.

Prince Harry’s lawyers contended that Ravec had exceeded its authority in making the decision to reject his private funding for police protection.

The Home Office’s legal team maintained that the type of protection discussed, potentially involving specialist officers as bodyguards, differed from funding for additional policing for events such as football matches.

They argued against exposing officers to danger due to the “payment of a fee by a private individual” and emphasized the policy of opposing the idea of allowing wealthy individuals to “buy” protective security.

While Prince Harry had previously expressed his desire not to burden taxpayers with security costs, his challenge to pay privately has been unsuccessful.

Last year, he obtained permission for legal reviews of the decision-making process, but the outcome of those reviews is still pending.
               

President Joseph Biden has announced the designation of a Presidential Delegation to attend the inauguration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as President on May 29.

The delegation will be led by Marcia L. Fudge, Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

A statement from the White House on Monday lists other members of the delegation as Mr. David Greene, Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., U.S. Embassy Abuja, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, United States Representative (D), California, Marisa Lago, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, U.S. Department of Commerce, General Michael E. Langley, Commander of U.S. Africa Command, Enoh T. Ebong, Director, U.S. Trade and Development Agency, Mary Catherine Phee, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of African Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Judd Devermont, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs, National Security Council and Monde Muyangwa, Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Africa, U.S. Agency for International Development.
                 

Lagos Magistrates Court in Yaba has adjourned trial of Afrobeat musician, Seun Kuti, to Wednesday, May 24, 2023.

The trial initially fixed for today May 23, 2023 could not hold and was reportedly moved to wednesday due to the the judge’s absence from the court.

The magistrate, Justice Adeola Olatubosun, who has been hearing the case was said to be away attending a conference.

Kuti was brought to the magistrates’ court but upon learning of the absence of the magistrate, he was immediately taken to the police station at Panti.

One of his lawyers confirmed to Channels Television that the case had been adjourned till Wednesday, May 24.

Meanwhile, outside the court premises, a group of people who called themselves members of the ‘Free Seun Kuti campaign’ staged a protest calling for the immediate release of the artist.
                 

Transparency International and its chapters in the Netherlands and the United States have urged the authorities in the two countries to reopen investigations into Eni and Shell for alleged bribe-paying in Nigeria.

The two oil multinationals allegedly paid over US$ 1 billion in bribes to members of then-President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration for the rights to the OPL245 offshore oilfield in a case widely recognised as seriously detrimental to the people of Nigeria.

Along these lines, the US and the Netherlands had previously opened investigations into the deal but closed them due to a court case in Italy.

Yet in 2021 and 2022, Italian authorities acquitted Eni and Shell, shocking the international community. Unfortunately, this is part of a pattern in Italy, with the OECD Working Group on Bribery and Transparency International’s own Exporting Corruption 2022 report finding the country limited in its enforcement against foreign bribery.

Now, reports that Nigeria’s attorney general advised the country’s outgoing president to drop the long-running dispute with Eni and Shell make the reopening of proceedings in countries that have jurisdiction over the case crucial for accountability.

Simultaneously, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) – Transparency International’s chapter in Nigeria – has urged the Nigerian government to refrain from terminating its own disputes.

It is estimated that the Nigerian treasury could lose as much as US$5 billion because of the poorly negotiated fiscal terms under the OPL 245 deal.

Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, executive director of CISLAC, said:
“Nigerians need answers. The outgoing government of President Muhammadu Buhari should reject calls to stop litigation over a deal that may have caused the Nigerian public an enormous loss. This is important, especially as the current government has about a week before giving way to another administration. The incoming government must ensure that we get to the root of the matter.” 
                 

Fakunle Unity High School, a secondary school in Osogbo, Osun State, abruptly ended academic activities on Tuesday when some students passed out from tear gas inhalation caused by men from Mopol 39 Base, which is located immediately across the street from the school.

According to a school source who asked to remain anonymous out of concern for harassment, students were already seated in their various courses when tear gas sprayed by riot police officers conducting morning drills entered the building.

As a result, several of the students passed out after breathing in the gas and were brought for treatment to a nearby private hospital, while others were taken to Osun State University Teaching Hospital in Osogbo.

Only staff were present when our correspondent arrived at the school’s grounds along the Osogbo/Ikirun road; the students had reportedly been expelled for the day to avoid additional casualties.

None of the instructors contacted wanted to comment on the situation, but a parent who only wanted to be known as Gideon told our correspondent that he had been ordered to check the Osun State University Teaching Hospital in Osogbo for his daughter, who was allegedly affected by the tear gas.

He said, “When I got here, I was told to check Uniosun Teaching Hospital for my daughter. The students have been sent home after about 20 of them lost consciousness after inhaling tear gas fired by the men of the Mopol base here.”

When approached for comment, the Osun State Police Command spokesperson claimed the riot officers were participating in their routine morning drills and expressed regret to individuals who were harmed.

She said, “I just spoke to the people at the Mopol base. They were just engaging in their morning drills, which involved the use of tear gas. We apologise for the inconvenience. There will be necessary adjustments in operation since the base is now close to where other people also operate their businesses.”

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, has proposed to Lauren Sanchez, his longtime girlfriend.

According to insiders close to the pair, they made the significant decision while traveling across Europe in the billionaire’s superyacht, Koru, according to Page Six.

The most recent time we saw them was at the Cannes Film Festival, when Apple Original Films’ “Killers of the Flower Moon” premiered.

Photographers saw Sánchez, an Emmy-winning journalist, floating on Koru on Sunday while wearing an engagement ring.

In 2019, when Bezos finalized his divorce from his ex-wife, Mackenzie Scott, the couple’s relationship was made public. The former couple had four children together and were married for 25 years.

The former TV host and her two children’s father, Patrick Whitesell, whom she had been married to for 13 years, were also recently divorced at the time their relationship became public. Sanchez has a second child from a prior union with Tony Gonzalez, a former American football player.

In 2021, Bezos announced his resignation as CEO of Amazon, and he turned his focus to environmental protection. Both members of the pair currently serve as co-chairs of the Bezos Earth Fund, an effort to combat climate change.

The traditional chiefs of the Piriga and Arak Chiefdoms, His Highness Jonathan Paragua Zamuna and His Highness General Aliyu Iliyah Yammah (retd. ), respectively, have been cleared for removal by Kaduna State Governor Malam Nasir El-Rufai.

The two traditional rulers will no longer occupy their respective positions as of Monday, May 22, 2023, according to a statement released by the state’s commissioner of local government, Hajiya Umma Ahmad.

The commissioner further stated that the depositions were conducted in accordance with Section 11 of the Traditional Institutions Law No. 21 of 2021 and Ministry of Local Government recommendations.

According to the commissioner, “the District Head of Garun Kurama, Babangida Sule, will oversee the affairs of Piriga Chiefdom, pending the appointment of a new chief, while the Council Secretary has been directed to initiate the process for the appointment of a new Chief.

“Gomna Ahmadu, the Council Secretary of Arak Chiefdom, will oversee the affairs of the chiefdom and also initiate the process for the appointment of a new Chief.”

According to the statement, “the government found unacceptable the response of General Iliyah Yammah to the query regarding his appointment of four district heads, contrary to the one approved for his chiefdom, and his non-residence within Arak chiefdom.

“The deposition of Jonathan Zamuna follows the recent communal clashes between the Gure and Kitimi communities of Piriga chiefdom in Lere LGA, and his non-residence within the chiefdom.”

The declaration further said that the village chiefs of Aban, Abujan Mada, and Anjil in the Arak Chiefdom would immediately resign.

The five-day nationwide warning strike by the National Association of Resident Doctors, or NARD, was postponed Wednesday.

All federal and state teaching hospitals, in addition to other institutions where resident doctors are taught, will start work by today at 8 a.m., according to the association’s national president, Dr. Emeka Orji.

He said; “Strike has been suspended and work resumes at 8a.m., tomorrow (today). Progress made will be reviewed on June 2. 2023, during our general meeting where the next line of action will be decided.”

The administration of Ambrose Alli University (AAU) reported that 13 of the 209 employees who are currently being investigated for various offenses, including misconduct, sexual harassment, corruption, and age manipulation, have been fired.

This information was disclosed by the school’s acting vice chancellor, Prof. Asomwan Adagbonyi, when he delivered the report of the USDC to Andrew Olotu, the head of the Special Intervention Team (SIT), at the government building.

He claimed that while 77 instances were still outstanding, 132 of the cases had already been resolved and decisions made regarding them.

Among the 13 employees let go, Adagbonyi noted that four worked in the faculty of engineering, two in the department of nursing sciences, one in the department of law, three in the faculty of basic medical science, one in the department of medical laboratory science, one in the department of political science, and one in the university farms.

“For other charges such as age discrepancies and multiple dates of birth and other forms of misconduct, the committee recommended demotion and redeployment, loss of annual increment for years (depending on the gravity of the offence and findings of the SIT) and leniency.

Adagbonyi added that the organization will keep up its efforts and work with the SIT to sanitize the university and make sure that the personnel adhered to the organization’s work ethics, rules, and regulations.

The head of the Special Intervention Team, Andrew Olotu, thanked the USDC for their impartial, fair, and thorough investigations and recommendations after receiving the report. He added that the SIT will continue its investigation and consider the report so that anyone found guilty does not escape punishment.

A Nigerian medical practitioner based in the United States, Dr. Adah Obekpa, has initiated a legal move to stall the presidential inauguration scheduled for May 29.

Dr. Obekpa in a motion filed at the Supreme Court of Nigeria is urging a delay in the inauguration until the resolution of his standing case before the Court.

His Appeal No. SC/934/2019 filed by his legal counsel and obtained by Daily Sun is predicated on his claim of unlawful exclusion from the 2011 general elections.

Obekpa is asserting that he was unjustly barred from participating as the potential presidential candidate of the African Renaissance Party (ARP).

Leaning on the Amaechi Vs Omehia case to strengthen his argument, he posits that the circumstances of his alleged unlawful exclusion deserved priority over any other considerations before the apex court.

“The determination of the circumstances surrounding my unlawful exclusion by the Court should take pre-eminence over any other consideration in the eyes of the law,” he argued in his brief.

The defendants in the original suit are the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the National Assembly, and the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who was, at the time, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.

A statement by his counsel, Jonathan Akeme, released yesterday, clarified that the motion before the Supreme Court was filed on Monday, May 15 and there is an application to join President Muhammadu Buhari and the Attorney General of the Federation in the suit.