22032019- INEC holds make-up polls in 17 states, FCT tomorrow

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8 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2019
Vanguard, FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2019—9 CCT trial: I’ve no case to answer, Onnoghen insists By Ikechukwu Nnochiri A BUJA—SUSPENDED Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen, yesterday, said he has no case to answer with regards to the six-count charge the Federal Government preferred against him before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, in Abuja. Onnoghen, who is facing trial over allegations that he failed to declare his assets as prescribed by the law, as well as operated foreign bank accounts, contrary to the code for public officers, insisted that Federal Government failed to adduce any credible evidence to substantiate the charge. He secured the leave of Mr. Danladi Umar-led three-man panel tribunal to file a no-casesubmission, in line with the provision of section 303 of the of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015. Onnoghen, who was suspended from office by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 25, indicated his intention to apply to be discharged and acquitted of the charge, after Federal Government closed its case yesterday. Earlier in the day, PW-2, who is a retired Director at the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, Mr. Awal Yakassai, told the Mr. Umar-led three-man panel that contrary to what was alleged in the media, the suspended CJN owned only five houses. He said it was not true that CCB investigators linked the ownership of 55 houses to the defendant. The witness made the disclosure after he was shown copies of Justice Onnoghen’s asset declaration forms, which the Federal Government tendered in evidence before the CCT. Yakassai admitted that the petitioner quoted details of Onnoghen’s asset declaration forms, his account numbers, verbatim, indicating that they had access to the forms in custody of the CCB. Federal Government, which had earlier notified the tribunal that it would call a total of six witnesses in the matter, •Suspended CJN owns only 5 houses, not 55, says ex-CCB director •It’s not true defendant has foreign accounts, banker testifies •As FG close its case after 3 witnesses however, applied to close its case after it produced only three witnesses that testified before the CCT. The prosecution counsel, Mr. Aliyu Umar, SAN, maintained that it would be unnecessary to call the remaining witnesses. The case was subsequently adjourned till next Friday for hearing of the defendant’s nocase application and for the adoption of the final written addresses by both the prosecution and the defence. The development came on a day the third prosecution witness, PW-3, Mrs. Ifeoma Okagbue, a staff of Standard Chartered Bank in Abuja, denied allegation that the suspended CJN operated foreign bank accounts. The PW-3, who identified herself as Onnoghen’s Relationship Manager, told the tribunal that contrary to what was contained in the charge, the five bank accounts that were linked to the defendant were domiciliary accounts that were opened at a branch of the bank at Wuse 2 in Abuja. Okagbue told the tribunal that she started managing Onnoghen’s bank accounts since 2015, even as she gave a load down of both the opening and closing balance in all the accounts, from January 2018 to January 2019. She said the accounts were all linked to one Bank Verification Code, BVN, adding that the bank had upon securing an approval from the defendant, diverted funds from the accounts into various profit yielding ventures. The PW-3 told the tribunal that profits that accrued from the investments were credited back into the accounts. While two of the accounts are in naira, the three others were pounds sterling, euro and dollar accounts. Besides, the PW-3, said it was untrue that the defendant had either $1million or £1million in any of the five bank accounts she said were still active. Meanwhile, Chairman of the CCB, Mr. Umar had earlier, yesterday, threatened to give 28 years jail term to journalists that misrepresent proceedings on the CJN’s trial. TraderMoni still on —Osinbajo By Johnbosco Agbakwuru ABUJA—VICE President Yemi Osinbajo has said TraderMoni scheme and other GEEP micro-credit products (MarketMoni and FarmerMoni), which are components of the Buhari administration’s Social Investment Programme, SIP, are still very much in operation. The vice president through his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, in a statement in Abuja, said the loans were not for the purpose of election. According to a progress report on the GEEP microcredit products (TraderMoni, MarketMoni, and FarmerMoni), he disclosed that over 30,000 beneficiaries per state have been captured under the programme. He said: “So far, a target of 30,000 minimum beneficiaries per state has been achieved in majority of the 36 states and FCT since after the national and state polls." Polls: We support Atiku, PDP’s going to court —Southern, M-Belt leaders By Henry Umoru ABUJA—LEADERS of Thought and Elder statesmen from four of the geo-political zones of the country, under the aegis of Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum, yesterday, threw its weight behind the presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, going to court to challenge the result of the presidential election. According to them, challenging the results declared by Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, by Atiku and PDP was a welcome development against the backdrop that the results cannot stand the scrutiny of any self respecting court. They called on the judiciary to shun what they termed the climate of fear that pervades Nigeria and do justice because the entire world would like the judiciary to do the needful. The elders and leaders have, however, described the just concluded February 23 presidential, National Assembly and March 9, gubernatorial, state Houses of Assembly and Federal Capital Territory, FCT Area Council elections as the lowest moment in the nation’s democratic history. Rising from a meeting, yesterday, in Abuja at the Asokoro residence of Chief Edwin Clark, the leaders who lampooned the electoral process, especially that of the presidential election, said the process fell below the minimum standards, In a statement yesterday, by Yinka Odumakin for South West; Prof Chigozie Ogbu for South East; Senator Bassey Henshaw for South- South and Dr Isuwa Dogo for Middle Belt, the elders and leaders said the total subversion of the will of the people was traceable to President Muhammadu Buhari’s refusal to sign the Electoral Act Amendment into law. The leaders also challenged the National Peace Committee, NPC, led by former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd) to understand that justice is the foundation of peace. According to the group, “after exhaustive deliberations, we adjudged the 2019 eections as the lowest moment in our democratic history as the entire process fell below the minimum standards. "The total subversion of the will of the people it represented was premeditated with the refusal of the President to sign the Electoral Bill into law, the undue militarisation of the polls, intimidation of the electorate, especially in demographics considered hostile to the ruling party and impunitous manipulation of figures to achieve preconceived ends." We’re sorry for Charlyboy’s alleged bribery mess, OurMumuDonDo begs Nigerians By Luminous Jannamike ABUJA — MEMBERS of OurMumuDonDo Movement, a good governance advocacy group, have apologised to Nigerians over the recent bribery scandal involving their leader, Charles Oputa a.k.a Charlyboy. A viral audio tape had surfaced on the internet containing sound bite of Charlyboy allegedly admitting during a conversation with an exmember of the group, Deji Adeyanju, that he had financial dealings with the government of President Muhammadu Buhari and All Progressives Congress, APC, while he (Deji) was incarcerated in Kano Central Prisons for 78 days. In his reaction, National Secretary of OurMumuDonDo, Adebayo Raphael, in a statement, yesterday, said members were disappointed by their leader’s alleged confession to have been compromised by the spokesman of Buhari Campaign Organisation, to make a video against the political interests of Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, before the just concluded general election. Adebayo said: “It is with a heavy and pertinent heart that I offer an unreserved apology, on behalf of myself and the other members of the OurMumuDonDo Movement, to the Nigerian people, who we have hitherto proclaimed to represent in all our actions and activities as a pressure group for the last three years. “My sincere hope is that you all will view this development as a necessary event needed to sanitise our civic space and reinvigorate our collective commitment to the struggle for social change."
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22032019- INEC holds make-up polls in 17 states, FCT tomorrow

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