Star Actress Ibinabo fiberesima Sentenced to Five Years in Prison

The Court of Appeal Lagos Division, has dismissed an appeal filed by star actress and former beauty queen, Ibinabo Fiberesima challenging the judgment of a Lagos High Court, which sentenced her to five years imprisonment for the death of one Dr. Giwa Suraj.

Justice Deborah Oluwayemi sentenced the embattled actress to five years imprisonment for reckless driving which caused the death of one Dr. Giwa Suraj in an auto accident along the Lekki-Epe expressway, Lagos.

The deceased was a staff of one of Lagos state’s hospitals.
Dissatisfied, Fiberesima in her amended appellant brief filed by her counsel, Nnaemeka Amaechina urged the court to set aside the five-year sentence and restore the decision of the Magistrate Court.

But delivering judgment yesterday, the appellate court dismissed the appeal and affirmed the decision of the Lagos High Court.
In a unanimous decision delivered by Justice Jamilu Yammama Tukur the court held that the trial Magistrate Court lacked the discretion to grant Ibinabo option of fine having been convicted.
The Court further held that the appeal lacks merit and thereby dismissed it accordingly.

Other members of the panel were Justice U.I. Ndukwe-Anyanwu (Mrs.) (presiding) and Justice Tijani Abubakar respectively.

Immediately, the judgment was delivered, Ibinabo who was visibly apprehensive throughout the proceeding burst into tears and wept profusely.

The court had earlier ordered that the appellant, Fiberesima, to appear before it when judgment is to be delivered.

Fiberesima had earlier been awarded a N100, 000 fine by an Igbosere Magistrate’s Court, but the then Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner of justice, Supo Sasore (SAN), felt unsatisfied with the judgment. This prompted the State Government to take its case to the Lagos High Court.

At the Lagos high court, Justice Oluwayemi set aside the option of fine imposed by the Magistrate’s Court and sentenced Fiberesima to five years imprisonment for dangerous and reckless driving.
In her judgment, Justice Oluwayemi held that the trial Magistrate exercised judicial recklessness when he gave the convict an option of fine.

The court held that the option of N100, 000 given to the convict did not serve the purpose of justice in the matter and subsequently ordered that the N100, 000 should be returned to Ibinabo Fiberesima.

The court added that Section 28 of the Road Traffic Law clearly provides that where a reckless and dangerous driving has caused the death of a person, the accused person shall be guilty of an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment of seven years.

Speaking on the judgment, her counsel, Amaechina said the judgment would be challenged at the Supreme Court adding that a Notice of Appeal had been filed already.

Court Orders DSS To Release Detained Ekiti Lawmaker

The Federal High Court sitting in Ado Ekiti has ordered the Department of State Services (DSS) to release a member of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Afolabi Akanni, who was arrested last week Friday.

In the alternative, the court in its ruling delivered by Justice Taiwo Taiwo, ordered the DSS to produce Akanni in court on Wednesday, March 16, and show cause why he would not be released.

Akanni, representing Efon constituency, was arrested by the DSS for an undisclosed reason and whisked to Abuja and has since been detained by the security agency.

Consequently, Akanni, through his lawyers, Obafemi Adewale and Bunmi Olugbade approached the court with an ex-parte application seeking the protection of his fundamental human rights in line with Section 35 (1) of the 1999 constitution.

The ex-parte motion dated March 10 and supported by a 21-paragraph affidavit deposed to by a member of the State House of Assembly, Tunji Akiyele, sought an order of the court compelling the DSS to release Akanni pending the determination of the substantive issue.

The motion also sought an order restraining the DSS from further re-arresting, harassing or intimidating Akanni until the main issue pending before the court is entertained and judgment dispensed.

In his ruling, Justice Taiwo agreed with the applicant that the enforcement of fundamental human rights is a case of urgency, which should be treated expeditiously, citing the cases of Beko Ransome Kuti vs SSS and Tunji Abayomi vs SSS.

Chaotic scenes as Trump cancels rally amid protests

Donald Trump cancelled a rally in Chicago Friday in the face of huge protests, which triggered scenes of chaos and prompted his presidential rivals to blame the violent outbreak on his incendiary rhetoric.

Demonstrators scuffled with the Republican presidential frontrunner’s supporters and police struggled to maintain order, with hundreds of protesters showing up for the event.

The billionaire said he decided to call off the rally after consulting with police in the city, where tensions had been rising for hours in the build-up to the event at a sporting arena at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

“I don’t want to see anybody hurt,” Trump told CNN afterwards. “I think we made the right decision (to cancel)… even though our freedom of speech was violated.”

Throngs of protesters, many of them blacks and Latinos angered by Trump’s incendiary anti-immigrant rhetoric, had massed outside and inside the venue itself, mingling with the candidate’s supporters.

Pundits said the chaos at the rally was reminiscent of violent protests at the 1968 Democratic national convention, also in Chicago, held when the United States was torn apart by opposing views on the Vietnam War.

CNN estimated there were between 8,500 to 10,000 people in the arena when tensions erupted into chaos.

According to an AFP photographer at the scene, scuffles broke out as the decision to cancel was announced, with police struggling to separate angry supporters and protesters.

The chaos ended several hours later, but not before members of the crowd threw bottles and other objects at officers, and some tried to take the stage and speak at the podium.

In addition to Black Lives Matter supporters, some protesters carried Bernie Sanders campaign signs and chanted the Democratic presidential candidate’s name.

One sign held by a protester inside the arena said “We are not rapists,” referring to Trump’s characterization last year of Mexicans as rapists.

Police made a total of five arrests and two officers were taken to area hospitals after sustaining minor injuries, the Chicago Police Department confirmed to AFP.

Critics have accused Trump of fueling the toxic atmosphere. On February 1, as protesters interrupted a rally in Iowa, he encouraged supporters to “knock the crap out of them,” and pledged to pay their legal fees.

When a protester disrupted Trump’s speech in Las Vegas, the brash billionaire said he would like to “punch him in the face.”

Trump dismissed the notion that he was responsible for whipping up tensions.

In a statement, Trump’s campaign said he had determined that “for the safety of all of the tens of thousands of people that have gathered in and around the arena, tonight’s rally will be postponed to another date.”

“Please go in peace,” it added.

Trump’s rivals framed the outbreak as at least partially caused by the frontrunner’s incendiary rhetoric.

“When you have a presidential candidate going into rallies and basically telling his followers ‘you know, in the good ol’ days people who (interrupted) leave on stretchers,’ I think he should own up to that and take some responsibility,” Republican rival Marco Rubio told CNN.

Candidate John Kasich, also a Republican, said that “the seeds of division that Donald Trump has been sowing this whole campaign finally bore fruit, and it was ugly.”

– No regrets –

The chaotic scenes come just days before the states of Florida, Ohio, Illinois and Missouri vote in the party primaries on March 15.

The sudden security concerns mark a major test for Trump as he seeks to lock up the nomination and turn his attention to doing battle against Hillary Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner.

Clinton was quick to take a stab at Trump over the Chicago violence, releasing a statement late Friday in which she said “we all have our differences, and we know many people across the country feel angry. We need to address that anger together.”

After rattling the Republican establishment with his shock emergence as the man to beat, Trump has been working hard in recent days to look presidential and shake off the brash, belligerent image.

But Trump’s rallies are known for being rambunctious affairs, and that seeped over into violence on Wednesday night in North Carolina when a 78-year-old white man in a cowboy hat punched a black protester in the face.

John McGraw, who later said that next time “we might have to kill him,” was charged with assault, battery and disorderly conduct for the sucker-punch.

Asked on CNN, after calm was restored in Chicago, whether he regretted his comments about protesters, or bore some responsibility for whipping up tensions, Trump refuted the notion.

“No, I don’t regret it at all,” he said. “Overall I think we’ve been very mild with protesters.”

Trump, who is scheduled to hold a rally Saturday in Cleveland, Ohio, has called on Republicans to amass behind him to propel him into the White House.

On Friday he received a major boost, winning the endorsement of Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon who quit the presidential race last week.

Many in the party see next Tuesday’s votes as the last best chance to derail the insurgent candidacy of the billionaire mogul, who has so far won 15 of 24 primary races.

Source: The Guardian

Court withdraws Mandela grandson's rape case

A South African court Wednesday temporarily abandoned a rape case against the grandson of anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela after the prosecution brought an application to “provisionally withdraw prosecution.”

The 25-year-old was accused of raping an underage girl at a pub in Johannesburg last year.

Under South African law, a suspect’s identity cannot be revealed until the accused pleads to the charge.

The National Prosecuting Authority said withdrawing the case for now was in the best interest of the trial as they were probing new evidence linked to the case.

“We have now obtained new information that requires further investigation,” prosecution spokeswoman Phindi Louw told journalists.

Louw said withdrawing the case did not mean that the accused was “off the hook”.

“The charge could be reinstated at a later stage, pending our investigation,” she said.

According to the prosecutor, the 15-year-old complainant was said to be “seeking mechanisms to cope with the trial.”

Mandela’s lawyer had previously argued that the sex was consensual and that the girl was 16 years old, the legal age for consensual sex.

The icon’s grandson was arrested in August 2015, and spent 10 days in custody before being freed on bail.

He is the latest Mandela family member to be embroiled in legal trouble likely to tarnish their name.

Several Mandela family members were in court to support the man who appeared relieved after the magistrate’s ruling.

photos from the traditional wedding of the Oni of Ife for new wife

The Ooni sent representatives to marry his new wife, Wuraola Zynab Otiti in Benin today. More photos after the cut...

172 Nigerian migrants, including 6 women, repatriated from Libya (photos)

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) helped 172 Nigerian migrants, including 6 women, to return home to Nigeria from Libya on Friday, March 11. One hundred forty-two had spent months in immigration detention centers.

The repatriation done in close cooperation with Libyan authorities, Nigeria’s Embassy in Tripoli and the IOM office in Nigeria – was on board a charter flight departing Tripoli’s Mitiga Airport and arriving in Lagos in the morning.

The repatriated Nigerians were received and screened by various agencies such as Nigeria Immigration Services, Police and the National Agency for Protection and trafficking in Persons(NAPTIP)

The Public Relations Officer, Nigeria Immigration Service, Mr Ekpedeme King who confirmed the deportation said the Nigerians were returned home for overstaying their visas, among other immigration offences.

"What I can tell you is that some Nigerians were deported today for immigration offences. Most of those brought overstayed in Libya" said King.

More pictures below;

PHOTOS- Stephanie Linus receives the SUV she won at AMVCA

Stephanie Okereke Linus' movie 'Dry' won Movie of the Year at AMVCA and the win came with a car which she collected yesterday. See photos after the cut..

Police confirm 3 dead, 10 in critical condition in CBN gas explosion

The Cross River Police Command has confirmed three persons dead and 10 in critical condition due to Friday’s gas cylinder explosion at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in Calabar.

Mr John Eluu, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), disclosed this on Saturday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Eluu said 20 members of staff of the bank were injured in the explosion which occurred at about 11 a.m., while two others were in critical condition.

As of yesterday, being Friday, 20 CBN staff members were injured and two were in critical condition immediately after the gas explosion.

We have been monitoring the situation closely and I can confirm to you that three of the victims are dead, while 10 are in critical condition.

The PPRO dismissed the rumour in some quarters that the explosion was a detonated bomb blast by Boko Haram insurgents.

''I wish to say categorically that the explosion was not a bomb blast by Boko Haram insurgents as it is being rumoured in some corners.Our men from the Explosive Ordinance Department were on ground at the scene of the accident.Their investigation shows that it was a gas cylinder explosion from one of the units in the building that caused the blast”

U.S. doctor with Lassa fever moved to Atlanta from Togo

An American doctor with a suspected case of Lassa fever, working with missionaries in Togo, has been moved to an isolation ward at an Atlanta hospital on Friday, an official said.

The patient, who has not been identified publicly, was being flown in a specially equipped aircraft from Togo and was expected to arrive at Emory University Hospital this weekend, officials said.

Lassa fever has been endemic in Africa for many years, with up to 300,000 infections annually.

An outbreak of Lassa fever is now underway in Nigeria, according to the World Health Organisation, and it is starting to spread to nearby countries including Togo.

According to a WHO statement, 159 suspected cases of Lassa fever and 82 deaths were reported between August 2015 and January 2016.

Some media reports have said as many as 101 people have died as of February.

Like Ebola, Lassa causes a severe fever with bleeding.

It is most commonly transmitted to people from rodent excrement, and it can be transmitted from person to person by contact with blood or bodily fluid.

Breaking !!! Former Delta State governor, Felix Ibru, is dead

Former Delta State governor, Olorogun Felix Ibru, has died at the age of 80.

Ibru was elected as the first executive governor of Delta State in 1992. He was also elected a senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District in 2003.

More details later.

Crown Court Orders Documents on British Police Corruption released to Ibori

This is a signed press statement by Tony Eluemunor, Media Assistant to Chief James Onanefe Ibori.

A British Crown Court has ordered the immediate release of documents and other materials uncovered by James Ibori's former solicitor Gohil Bhadresh suggesting that British Metropolitan Police Officers investigating James Ibori, fraudulently obtained materials and documents against Gohil Bhardesh and James Ibori. 

A press statement from Tony Eluemunor, Chief Ibori’s Media Assistant, said that His Honour Judge Tester of Southwark Crown Court on Friday directed the prosecution to comply with his order made on January 21st this year and release to James Ibori's counsels the documents. The prosecution had initially refused to release the documents and other materials which suggested police involvement in corruption and fraud in the James Ibori's and Gohil Bhadresh's case.

This order followed the dramatic turn of event in the case brought by the Crown Prosecution against Gohil accusing him of attempt to pervert the course of justice but which the crown prosecution dropped following damaging and incriminating documents uncovered by Gohil Bhadresh which the Prosecution had lied ever existed.

The allegations of corruption and documents suggesting thousands of pound sterling were paid into the bank account of the investigating police officers involved in the case and attempt by both the crown prosecution and the British Police to cover up this grave misconducts have greatly damaged the credibility of materials and documents relied upon by the crown and police in this case. Subsequently, all the crown prosecutors and police officers handling the case have been removed from the case.

According to the statement, a new vista has opened in the Ibori London trial, as James Ibori's former solicitor, Gohil Bhadresh has approached the court of appeal to quash his conviction because the Police and the crown prosecution may have misled the court and have been neck deep in corruption. This new development may totally change this whole case as the new documents suggesting Police misconduct in the handling of the case may mean the last has not been heard in James Ibori's trial in London.