News Desk Tuesday, November 6, 2007

I Don't Trust Yar'Adua - Uwazuruike

Leader of MASSOB who just regained temporary freedom from detention, Ralph Nwazuruike, has said he has no confidence in the genuine intention of the Yar'Adua-led administration to resolve the lopsidedness of the Nigerian nation. He made the remark yesterday at a reception organized for him at the residence of Otunba Gani Adams. "If he is serious, why did he release Dokubo and left me? It is maginalisation and insentivity," he alleged. He promised that the struggle for emancipation will continue. arlier, Otunba Adams said only a sovereign national conference can resolved the national question.

Bail Conditions Scandalous - Kutigi

The Chief Justice of Nigeria yesterday took a swipe at judges in the country over what he described as scandalous bail conditions, just as he said the idea of judges granting bail to accused persons and setting down strenuous bail conditions was quite outlandish. Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi also expressed dismay over the incessant interference of some state governments with the judicial arm of government by depriving it of the required funds for recurrent and capital expenditure even as some state governors refuse to appoint the next most senior judge in the hierarchy of state High Court. This, he said, is not only "an affront to the 1999 Constitution, but also inimical to administration of justice and the rule of law, which this administration, since inception, has guarded."

UK Admits Pressure from Nigeria to Try Corrupt Officials

The United Kingdom has admitted that its decision to go after corrupt Nigerian public officers who use its country as a safe haven to launder stolen wealth was at the prompting of the Nigerian government. Talking with THISDAY in Washington, D.C., former leader of the House of Lords in the UK, Baroness Valerie Amos, said the British government had to make legislations following pressure mounted by Nigeria and concerns expressed about money laundering through financial institutions in the UK.

I will quit as president if ... - Yar’Adua

IF the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal voids the election of President Umaru Yar’Adua in the April general election, the president may not appeal against the ruling going by feelers on Monday. It was gathered that the president, during his visit to New York, United States, in October, met with top government officials, led by the Secretary of State, Ms. Condoleezza Rice, and told them that he might not appeal if his election were nullified. The presidential election petition tribunal, sitting in Abuja, is currently hearing two petitions against the election of the president.

Espionage: Judith Asuni still in SSS custody

TWO weeks after a Federal High Court in Abuja granted her and her Nigerian employee, Danjuma Saidu, bail, Niger Delta activist, Dr Judith Asuni, who is on trial for alleged espionage, is yet to leave the custody of the State Security Service (SSS). They are said to be finding it difficult to satisfy some of the stringent bail conditions listed by the court. Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court had granted the two of them bail on conditions which included N10 million surety each.

I’ll return to jail in January – Uwazuruike

Leader of the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, has promised to return to prison on expiration of the three months bail granted him two weeks ago. According to him, "on January 28, 2008, I will return to prison. That is what the law said and I will not hesitate to comply."
He spoke during a visit to the corporate headquarters of The Sun Publishing Limited on Monday, saying, "I will go back to jail on the 28 January, 2008, unless something else happens." Uwazuruike lamented the death of his mother while he was being detained, adding: "The death of my mother, when it was announced, was my saddest moment in prison. There is something I hold in common with my mother. I am the only son. Before I was born, my mother had seven kids who died. So my birth was something special to her. She begged me not to die. We reached an agreement and I promised that I would not die."