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Buhari vs Atiku: Reps List Seven S’Court Justices To Determine Case
A caucus of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the House in Representatives, has suggested the appointment of Justices Ibrahim Tanko, Rhodes-Vivour, Mary Odili, Sylvester Ngwata, Olukayode Ariwoola, Musa Mohammed and Kumai Akaahs to hear and determine the appeal filed by the PDP Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar challenging the judgement of the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal declaring President Muhammadu Buhari as the winner of the 2019 Presidential election.
The factional caucus accused the leadership of the Supreme Court of trying to thwart the convention of selecting the most senior Justices of the Supreme Court to hear and determine such matters.
The caucus said that the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice of Nigeria must abide by that norm and resist the pressure to appoint justices who they alleged would favour the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its presidential candidate, President Muhammadu Buhari in deciding the appeal.
In a statement signed by PDP Caucus Leader, Hon. Kingsley Chinda; Deputy Leader, Hon. Chukwuma Onyema; Caucus Whip, Hon. Umar Barde; and Deputy Caucus Whip, Hon. Muraina Ajibola; the PDP Caucus said post-Chief Justices of Nigeria since 1979 have set the precedent of appointing the most senior Justices to hear the Presidential election appeal.
The caucus stressed that the first seven senior Justices should be appointed to hear the appeal and listed them to Justices Ibrahim Tanko (CJN), Justice Rhodes-Vivour, Justice Mary Odili, Justice Sylvester Ngwata, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, Justice Musa Mohammed and Justice Kumai Akaahs.
The statement reads in part: “The hearing of the appeal on the decision of the Presidential Election Petitions filed by Alhaji Abubakar Atiku against President Buhari and our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), begins a few weeks at the Supreme Court.
“The practice of selecting Justices to hear the appeal is expected to precede the hearing, going by age-long convention. What isn’t conventional is the present attempt to influence Chief Justice Ibrahim Tanko, going by reports in the media, to subvert the age-long and time-tested practice, precedent and convention of selecting the most senior Justices of the Supreme Court to hear the presidential election appeal.
“Chief Justices of Nigeria through time have never in the selection of the Supreme Court’s Election Petitions Appeal Panel surrendered to the phoney dictates of the ruling parties”.
According to the statement, “We are proud to state here that never in our great party’s time in power, did it or its personages, dictate the selection of panel members to Chief Justices; Never.
“In 2008, when President Buhari, defeated by late President Umaru Yar’Adua, appealed the decision of the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal, the then Chief Justice, Legbo Kutigi, empanelled Justices Katsina-Alu, Aloma Mukhtar, Dahiru Mustapha, Walter Onnoghen, George Oguntade and Niki Tobi to hear the appeal that year.
“He was never dictated to, nor was any attempt made by our great party to influence CJN Justice Legbo Kutigi, who stuck to a conventional practice that consistently secured the seal of approval of past Chief Justices: CJN Fatai Williams, 1979; CJN George Sowewimo, 1983; and CJN Muhammad Uwais, 20033 .
The caucus added that “CJN Katsina-Alu also followed CJN Kutigi’s steps in 2011 and kept to the age-long conventional practice. If there is an arm of government that regards precedents and practices as almost sacrosanct, it is the judiciary. Nigerian Judiciary cannot reverse that internationally accepted practice of stare decisis just to please the Buhari government and serve the interest of a select individual or group.
“Selecting the Supreme Court panel isn’t about witch-pricking-pricking Justices who suck the blood out of justice isn’t about going outside the order of seniority to select Justices, witch-prickers, without independent jurisprudential thoughts and whose singular attribute for selection is that they demonstrate permanent dislike for justice and passion for doing the bidding of power”.
The statement further buttressed that, “Selection, shorn of pressure and influence of the government and the present ruling party, is about demonstrating and holding firm to the constitutional powers of the Supreme Court to conduct its own affairs and not succumb to pervasive power and corrosive external influences.
“To sidestep precedents and convention is to provide legitimacy to the ruling party whose stock-in-trade is ridiculing the judiciary. Chief Justice Ibrahim Tanko must stick to precedents and conventions to preserve the integrity of the courts as the last hope of the common man and of citizens of our great country.
“We are, however, gladdened that on Monday, 14th October, 2019, through its Director, Press and Information, Dr Festus Akande, the Supreme Court refuted this intent and reassured the Nigerian public that it is out to ‘Serve the interest of the generality of the Nigerian masses and not select individuals or groups’. We, therefore, pray and hope that the Supreme Court does not allow itself to fall into this gobble trap.
“We wish to state that selection of Justices to hear the appeal of our great party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, against Buhari must be in accordance with the conventional practice admitting only of the selection of the first seven most senior Justices of the Supreme Court: CJN Ibrahim Tanko, Justice Rhodes-Vivour, Justice Mary Odili, Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, Justice Musa Muhammad and Justice Kumai Akaahs. No More”.
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have foiled attempts by drug trafficking syndicates to smuggle illicit substances concealed in carton walls, winter jackets, and body cream containers through Murtala Muhammed International Airport and a Lagos-based courier firm.
The agency said two consignments bound for Italy were intercepted at the Lagos airport, leading to the arrest of suspects linked to the shipments.
In a statement released yesterday, the agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said one of the suspects, 37-year-old Friday Ehianuka, was intercepted on Friday, March 20, 2026, while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight to Rome, Italy.
The statement partly read, “Two of the consignments heading to Italy were to be moved through the Lagos airport where two suspects linked to the shipments were promptly arrested.
“One of them, 37-year-old Friday Ehianuka, was going to Rome, Italy on Friday, March 20, 2026, when he was intercepted while attempting to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight with 2,698 pills of tramadol 225mg concealed in containers of skin-lightening body cream, all packed in the suspect’s luggage.
“In his statement, Ehianuka, who is a resident of Milan, confirmed that he was to be paid a negotiated fee in Euros if he had succeeded in trafficking the consignment to Italy.”
In another operation on Wednesday, March 18, Babafemi said NDLEA officers at the departure hall intercepted another passenger, Christian Agbonhese, attempting to board a Lufthansa flight to Milan.
A search of his luggage uncovered 23,150 pills of tramadol 225mg, 4,000 tablets of tapentadol 250mg, and 1,320 pills of tramadol 100mg concealed in two large winter jackets.
“No fewer than 23,150 pills of tramadol 225mg; 4,000 tablets of tapentadol 250mg; and 1,320 pills of tramadol 100mg, all concealed in two large winter jackets, bringing the total number of opioids recovered from him to 28,470 pills. The 38-year-old Agbonhese is also a resident of Milan,” the statement added.
In a separate operation at a courier firm in Lagos, Babafemi said NDLEA officers on Monday, March 16, intercepted two parcels of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis weighing 1kg, hidden in a carton shipped from the United States.
“Also thwarted was an attempt to export 158 grams of methamphetamine concealed in the walls of a carton to New Zealand,” he said.
In Kano State, operatives arrested Abdulkadir Mamuda, 35, with 102.5kg of skunk at Dan-Tsalle, while another suspect, Uche Johnson Festus, 47, was nabbed at Naibawa Gabas with 95.5kg of the same substance.
Babafemi said the agency also recovered 21,737 bottles of codeine-based syrup during a raid at Otto, Ijora area of Lagos on Wednesday, March 18, adding that two suspects, Chidiebere Anigbogu and Paul Nwagbara, were arrested the same day on the Third Mainland Bridge while conveying 8,380 bottles of the syrup.
In Edo State, operatives recovered 97.5kg of skunk from the residence of Akeem Idde, 37, in Ojah, Akoko-Edo Local Government Area on March 16.
In the FCT, officers intercepted a commercial bus along the Gwagwalada Expressway on March 18, recovering 91,840 pills of tramadol hidden in body compartments of the vehicle. The driver, Aminu Ali, 27, was arrested.
In Oyo State, a suspect, Bankole Bari, was on Tuesday, March 17, arrested at Oke-Oyan, Ibarapa LGA, with 71.2kg of skunk, which he smuggled into Nigeria from Benin Republic through the Oyan River.
In a similar development, “Not less than 586,000 pills of tramadol and Exol-5 were recovered by NDLEA operatives from Lawal Anas, 28, along Kaduna-Zaria Highway, Kaduna, on Tuesday, March 17, while 7,290 tablets of tramadol 225mg were seized from Musa Shuaibu, 22, at the same location on Friday, March 20,” Babafemi said.
In Taraba State, officers intercepted Aliyu Adamu, 26, along the Takum-Jalingo Highway with 77,660 capsules of tramadol, while in Adamawa State, six suspects were arrested in connection with the seizure of 82.8kg of tramadol in a truck in Yola.
The suspects include Ramatu Aliyu, Jungudo Abdullahi, Najid Abdullahi, Musa Mohammed, Usman Abdulrahim, and Musa Mohammed.
The agency said its commands across the country also intensified War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaigns in schools, worship centres, and communities during the week.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers of the MMIA, DOGI, Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Edo, Oyo, FCT, Taraba, and Adamawa commands for the arrests and seizures, urging them to sustain the balanced approach to drug control efforts.
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RSG Applauds FRSC, NDLEA For Enhancing Security In Rivers …As NDLEA Pushes For Drug Tests In Schools, NYSC Camps
The Rivers State Government has commended the dedication and collaboration of federal government agencies in sustaining security in the State.
Speaking during a courtesy visit by the State Commander of the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), CN Bature Dawa, in Port Harcourt, last week, the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Dagogo Wokoma, said Governor Siminalayi Fubara appreciates the strong synergy between the agencies in promoting his administration’s vision of peace, prosperity and progress in the State.
Wokoma urged residents to remain law-abiding, noting that respect for the law is essential for good governance and sustainable development in all parts of the state.
He stated that the governor has remained committed to initiatives that promote peace and social order, stressing that the administration will continue to support programmes of federal agencies aimed at strengthening security and public safety.
“Our governor is committed to peace, progress and prosperity in Rivers State. I therefore encourage all residents, especially young people who are often targeted by those involved in drug abuse, to stay away from drugs, crime and reckless driving,” he said.
In his remarks, the State NDLEA boss, Dawa, disclosed that the agency has arrested 39 suspects in the state from December 2025 to date, including 16 new cases currently under investigation.
He explained that the NDLEA, through its Drug Demand Reduction and Drug Supply Control Units, has intensified efforts to curb the spread of illicit drugs and ensure offenders are brought to justice.
Dawa also called on parents and guardians to closely monitor their children, while urging hotel owners and managers to remain vigilant and prevent their facilities from being used for drug-related activities.
He further advocated the introduction of drug integrity tests in schools and within the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme as part of measures to discourage drug abuse among young people.
In a related development, Dr Wokoma received the Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), CC Inyang Umoh, during a courtesy visit, and urged residents to abide by road safety laws and drive in consideration of other road users.
In his remarks, the FRSC boss expressed appreciation to Governor Fubara for the continuous support to the Corps.
Muslims in Rivers State have commended Governor Siminialayi Fubara for his dedication and commitment to the development of the state.
They also lauded the governor for promoting peaceful co-existence among various religious groups in the state.
Vice President General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs ,Alhaji Nasil Awhelegbe Uhor, gave the commendation last Friday during the Eid-el Fitri prayer to mark the end of Ramadan fasting period, at the Port Harcourt Central Mosque, Niger Street, Port Harcourt.
Speaking to newsmen shortly after the prayer, Alhaji Uhor said Governor Fubara has shown exemplary leadership in the affairs of the state.
Uhor who is the leader of the South South Muslim Ummah of Nigeria, called on Muslims to remain committed to the ideal of peace and fear of the Almighty Allah.
According to the Rivers State Islamic leader, the message is for Muslims to imbibe and allow the lessons of Ramadan to sink into their lives and shape their ways of doing things.
He urged Muslims to imbibe the culture of love and respect for one another.
“My message is that all Muslims should imbibe and allow the lessons of Ramadan to sink with them,” he advised.
Uhor stressed the need for Muslims and all Nigerians to remain patriotic, while avoiding all forms of anti-social behaviours.
He also called on the political leaders to put the country first, stressing that there is no need for Nigerians to continue to wallow in abject poverty when the country is so rich with natural resources.
Also speaking, the Chief Imam of Rivers State, Alhaji Ibrahim S Yalo, urged Muslims to fear God, and speak the truth always.
According to him, time has come for Nigerians to cultivate the habit of peaceful coexistence, speak the truth and be each others keeper.
“Nigerians own a duty to ensure peace, live together in fear of God and speak the truth always,” he said.
By: John Bibor