NEWS
Executive Lawlessness: Wike, Others Risk Jail Term
It appears that the Judiciary is fed up with executive lawlessness, which has seen some members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) flout court orders.
The National Industrial Court (NIC) might be leading in instituting the rule of law, as it moved on Wednesday to make an example of Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike and some of his executives, at the FCTA.
It was gathered that the NIC, Abuja has begun contempt proceedings against Wike, and others over what it termed ‘disregard of series of court orders’.
One of the reasons Wike would be standing trial is Managing Director/CEO, Abuja Markets Management Limited (AMML), Faruk Abubakar tenure.
One of the instances which incurred the irk of the NIC was Wike’s inclusion of Abubakar in the list of heads of agencies dissolved on September 27, 2023.
Recall that Wike had, on September 27, 2023 through a statement, relieved the heads of 21 parastatals, agencies and government companies of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) of their appointments with immediate effect, including AMML.
The contempt charge, filed by Abubakar also joined the FCTA, AMML and the Abuja Investments Company Limited (AICL) as 2nd to 4th defendants respectively, including the former acting managing director of the AMML, Engr. Yakubu Abbas.
In the Form 48 marked: NICN/ABJ/62/2023, which was dated and filed on November 3, 2023, the application was titled: “Notice of Consequences of Disobedience to Order of Court.”
The application was brought pursuant to Section 72 Sheriff and Civil Process Act, 2004; Order IX Rules 1-3 of the Judgment Enforcement Rules and Under the inherent jurisdiction of court.
The application reads, “Take notice that unless you (the defendants) obey the orders and directions contained in the judgment of court on July 20 and the order of this Honourable Court made on July 26, you will be guilty of the contempt of court and will be liable to be committed to prison.”
It was gathered that that Abubakar’s counsel, Faruk Khamagam, had, following the dissolution, formally apprised Wike on September 28, 2023 about the peculiar situations that surrounded the agency’s headship and the legal tussle that preceded his appointment as minister.
Khamagam, in the letter, informed Wike of series of court judgments that affirmed Abubakar’s status as substantive managing director of the AMML.
The contempt proceeding would be standing on the allegation that Wike and others had been acting in disobedience to the orders of the industrial court made on July 20, restraining them from giving effect to the purported letter of termination of the employment of Abubakar as the managing director or the AMML.
Justice R. B. Haastrup had restrained the defendants from giving effect to the termination of the employment of Abubakar as the managing director of the AMML, which order was contained in a letter dated July 17, 2023, until the hearing and determination of the counterpart motion on notice.
The judge also ordered the defendants not to, in any way, interfere in the management, business and corporate affairs of the AMML and that status quo ante be maintained until the counterpart motion on notice was heard and determined.
In the same vein, Justice Donatus Okorowo of a Federal High Court, Abuja, had, on July 10, 2023 in a judgment, restrained the FCT Minister, the FCTA and others in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/499/2023 from dissolving and reconstituting the Board of the AMML by political fiat or press statement, without first following the procedure of CAMA, 2020.
According to the court, doing so would be ultra vires the powers of the FCT Minister and the FCTA.
The court had also affirmed Abubakar as the managing director of the AMML.
Khamagam, who said the AICL and FCTA had continued to insist on the termination of Abubakar’s employment as contained in their July 17, 2023 letter, also averred that Abbas had been parading himself as the acting managing director of the AMML in contravention of valid court orders and judgment.
He said, “Engr. Yakubu Abbas himself, has been parading himself as the acting MD of AMML and has been signing and issuing documents in that capacity, in the name of AMML from unknown locations.”
On his part, Legal Adviser and Secretary, AMML, Felix Edache, alleged that on Monday, the policemen stormed the AMML’s head office in Gudu on the order of the FCT commissioner of Police.
According to Edache, the officers were led by DSP Bello Adamu, who disclosed that they were deployed to maintain peace and workers’ safety.
“When I resumed, I saw a flood of armed policemen all over the premises.
“Upon getting to the office, I was told that they had come to ensure safety of the place but I told them that I am not aware that AMML made any complaint to the police to that effect.
“In fact if there should be any of such complaint, it should have come from me,” he said.
He was rattled, however, when later in the evening the same policemen tendered a memo from the FCTA signed by the General Counsel, Salman Dako, purportedly written on behalf of the FCT Minister asking the CP to prevent the MD, Abubakar, and the Legal Adviser from gaining entrance into the office.
He continued, “Although, the memo by Dako cited the termination of Abubakar’s employment as the eason for the request, it did not say why the police is being asked to prevent me from entering the office.
“We are law abiding citizens. We will never do anything to subvert the law.
“However, any attempt to trample our right would be resisted with every legal tool.
“It is time for the Minister to reassess his legal team at the ministry so that they don’t end up misleading him into running foul of the law which he also swore to protect as both lawyer and public servant.
“I am hopeful that the minister will act accordingly.”
The Federal Government has come under scrutiny for not doing enough to ensure that prices in the oil industry are kept within the reach of ordinary people, by ensuring that local refineries get adequate crude supplies from the domestic oil industry.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) lamented that Nigeria’s leading domestic refiner, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals (DPRP) gets inadequate supplies of crude from the local oil industry, while the government watches helplessly.
The acting General Secretary of the NLC, Benson Upah, was cited by The Punch as taking the stance in an interview on Tuesday, while reacting to the latest increase in petrol prices.
Upah was reacting to the latest increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, and was emphatic that the upward review of price was both “avoidable and unacceptable” because the development would further compound the economic difficulties confronting ordinary Nigerians, particularly workers and low-income households already struggling with high transportation, food and other living costs.
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He said, “This adds to the increasing difficulties of the average Nigerian for whom life has been Hobbesian.”
The labour leader argued that the latest increase was difficult to justify, particularly against the backdrop of developments in the international oil market and Nigeria’s growing domestic refining capacity.
According to him, “The latest increase is avoidable and unacceptable in light of falling prices in the international market and our local capacity to sell more crude oil to Dangote. Why are we not doing so?”
The NLC’s reaction came against the backdrop of another increase in the price of petrol by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which has triggered fresh concerns among motorists, transport operators and businesses already grappling with high operating costs.
The refinery raised its petrol gantry price by N65 per litre on Saturday, moving it from N1,200 to N1,265 per litre. The latest adjustment came only three days after the company increased the price from N1,185 to N1,200 per litre.
It was the third price adjustment by the refinery in eight days. On August 21, the company had raised its gantry price from N1,165 to N1,185 per litre. In all, the three adjustments have added N100 to the price of petrol at the refinery’s gantry, representing an 8.6 per cent increase within just eight days.
The latest increase has since begun to reverberate across the downstream market, with petrol prices varying from one location to another as marketers factor in transportation, logistics and other distribution costs.
In some parts of Lagos and Ogun, petrol has been reported at about N1,310 per litre, while prices in some northern states and areas farther from the refinery have climbed to N1,350 and above. In some locations, the product is approaching N1,400 per litre.
The renewed price increase is coming at a particularly sensitive time for Nigerians, many of whom are still struggling with the impact of the removal of the petrol subsidy in 2023.
The subsidy removal fundamentally altered the petroleum pricing regime, exposing consumers to movements in crude oil prices, foreign exchange rates and other market costs. Petrol prices, which were previously heavily regulated by the government, have since undergone several increases, with each adjustment feeding into the cost of transportation and other essential goods and services.
The latest development has also revived an old but unresolved question in Nigeria’s petroleum sector: why does a crude-producing country with a major new refinery still face persistent pressure on petrol prices?
The question has become more prominent with the emergence of the DPRP, which has a capacity to process in excess of 650,000 barrels of crude oil daily and was expected to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported refined petroleum products.
But while the refinery has ramped up production, securing adequate quantities of Nigerian crude has remained a contentious issue.
OPay has called for an investigation by the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force over a viral social media rumour claiming that the fintech company was shutting down its operations in Nigeria.
OPay’s Chief Legal Counsel, Akinfolabi Rokosu, disclosed this on Wednesday during a press conference organised by the company.
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Rokosu said the DSS and police were among the law enforcement agencies investigating the circulation of the false information, adding that OPay had provided evidence to help identify those responsible.
“While the DSS and the Nigeria police, among the relevant law enforcement agencies, are currently and intensively investigating this matter, we are fully cooperating with the ongoing investigations being conducted and have provided the necessary evidence to identify those responsible for it,” he said.
He added that OPay would take legal action against individuals responsible for creating and circulating the information.
“Opay is taking action against those responsible for creating and circulating this harmful information. We will pursue them and will ensure that the law is fully enforced,” Rokosu said.
Also speaking, OPay’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Technical Officer, Dotun Adekunle, reassured customers that the company remained operational and had no plans to leave Nigeria.
“OPay is here, OPay is operating, and OPay is going nowhere,” he said.
Adekunle described the circulating message as false and noted that the alleged shutdown date mentioned in the message had already passed.
“The message that is circulating online is false. It did not come from OPay. There is no decision from OPay or by OPay to shut down its operations in Nigeria, and there is no indefinite leave,” he said.
He urged customers not to make financial decisions based on unverified messages shared on social media or messaging platforms.
The controversy followed a viral notice claiming that OPay would suspend its Nigerian operations from September 1, 2026, and advising customers to withdraw their funds to avoid losing access to their accounts.
OPay had earlier dismissed the notice as false and urged customers to rely on its official communication channels for accurate information.
The fintech also asked an X user who shared information about the alleged shutdown to retract the post and apologise. The user subsequently deleted the post and apologised.
More than 3,000 people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) following the country’s deadliest-ever Ebola outbreak, according to the latest official figures released on Wednesday.
The Congolese National Institute of Public Health said the outbreak has so far killed 3,007 people and infected 6,186 others, representing a fatality rate of 48.6 per cent.
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The health agency also reported that 1,409 people have recovered from the disease.
The outbreak, which was declared in mid-May, originated in the remote northeastern province of Ituri and has spread to six provinces, including areas severely affected by insecurity and the activities of armed groups.
Ebola is transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids and can cause severe haemorrhagic fever. The virus has killed more than 15,000 people across Africa over the past five decades.
The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or treatment.
Health authorities are facing significant challenges in containing the virus, with the response reportedly hampered by inadequate resources, insecurity and mistrust among some communities.
Several vaccines and treatments are being tested against the Bundibugyo strain. Existing approved Ebola vaccines are effective against the Zaire strain, which was responsible for the largest known Ebola outbreak.
The World Health Organisation has recommended a Phase Three clinical trial of Ervebo, a vaccine used against the Zaire strain, to determine whether it can also protect against Bundibugyo.
WHO experts remain uncertain about Ervebo’s effectiveness against the strain, although preliminary data indicate that it could provide some level of protection.
Meanwhile, a batch of 16,250 vaccine doses arrived in DR Congo at the end of August for frontline health workers, with vaccination beginning shortly afterwards in Kisangani, the capital of Tshopo Province.
The latest outbreak has already surpassed the country’s previous worst Ebola epidemic, which occurred between 2018 and 2020 and killed nearly 2,300 people from about 3,500 reported cases.
Authorities and international health partners are continuing efforts to contain the outbreak as infections and fatalities rise.
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