23yr old Nigerian who was shot & killed by his colleague in Atlanta, laid to rest

On Saturday, October 24, Emmanuel Chukwudi Nwankwo was laid to rest at Forest Hills Memorial Gardens after a celebration of life service.

According to Atlanta Police, the 23-year-old security guard was shot and killed by his co-worker Dexter Harper (right), another security guard while at work on Thursday October 1, in Buckhead, Atlanta Georgia. Dexter admitted not just to the killing, but to seeing a demon and hearing the voice of God before he opened fire on Emmanuel. Atlanta police spokeswoman Kim Jones said 26-year-old Harper was charged with murder and taken to the Fulton County Jail.

Homicide detectives said the two security guards were in the skyscraper alone when they apparently began arguing. Police said surveillance video didn't capture the deadly shooting but was helpful in showing them what happened.

 

     "We have two security guards who were working at this location. We are not sure what the motive was.  We have been told there may have been some type of verbal argument that escalated into the gunfire," Atlanta Police Lt. Charles Hampton said.

Powerful testimony in court came from the father of a murder victim minutes before a judge denied bond for the security guard accused of killing his son.

 

     "I believe that this court, on this land, in Atlanta, Georgia, with the state and this case will set a stand," said Emmanuel Nwankwo Sr as he fought to keep his son's accused killer in jail until trial.

     "How do you feel like you have son, an American son, the soul of your son, was murdered," Nwankwo Sr. said.

      "Well, the victim's family should be upset. I mean, anytime anybody passes it's a horrible thing. I'm just going to have to review the case, figure out the facts and see how I can defend him," defense attorney Manny Arora said. 

Police say during interviews, Harper admitted to the shooting because he saw a demon in the victim.

     "Another reason that he gave later on the interview, he said God told him to do it," said Detective Eugene Johnson with the Atlanta Police Department.

     "Based on the comments that were made by the client to the police at the scene, it would appear that there are going to be some mental health issues. I don't know what level they rise to, but we're going to start exploring that," Arora said. 

After prosecutors argued Harper was a danger to the community, himself and his family. The judge denied bond and bound the case over to court.

The judge set another court date for Harper in November. Meantime, Harper's attorney says he'll work to get his clients psychological evaluation done as soon as possible.

Photo: Four fake soldiers paraded in Lagos

Four fake soldiers identified as John Izunwanne, 25, John Otu, 23, Richard Acha, 22, and Simon Anthony, 39, who were arrested at various times along Mile 2 road, Idi-Araba and Agege area in Lagos state, were paraded by the state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni at the force headquarters in Ikeja yesterday October 29th.

When interrogated, one of the suspects, 39 year old Simon Anthony, said he decided to wear the military uniform to secure free transportation from his base in Adamawa to Lagos state

“I was dismissed in January 2014 for falling out from duty. I am from Adamawa state. I wanted to use the uniform to travel to Lagos because I had no transport money. But unfortunately, I was arrested by soldiers,” he told the Nation.

Also one of the arrested fake soldiers, John Izunwanne said he wore the uniform because he wanted to secure free transportation.

“I wanted to go and sign my army recruitment form at Ojo Barracks when I bought the uniform at the Mammy Market. However, on October 7, my friend had a court case and I was to appear in court as a witness. The court was in Agege and I did not have the transport fare to go, so, I decided to wear my uniform to save me the cost of transportation.”

One of the arrested fake soldiers Otu who is a member of the Citizen for Peace and First Aid Missions in Nigeria, said he heard his friends were arrested and went to the police to secure their bail, only to be arrested for wearing the uniform.

JUST IN: Appeal Court Dismisses Bukola Saraki's Appeal

The Court of Appeal has ruled that the trial of Senate President, Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, is in order and should proceed.

Justice Moore Adumen, on Thursday morning, read the verdict of the three man panel, stating that the Code of Conduct Tribunal, was properly constituted.

Photos: Drivers driving on one-way arrested by Governor Ambode's convoy

The governor's convoy arrested the vehicles along Apapa-Oshodi Expressway last night. See more photos after the cut...

Does he look like he was drugged & tricked into making a gay sex tape? (photos)

Earlier this week famed Philly boxer Yusaf Mack (right) claimed gay porn stars drugged and tricked him into making a gay sex tape but that may be a lie as new pictures that surfaced yesterday show him allegedly on set of the porn shoot and he does not appear to be under the influence. His picture is also prominently displayed on the website promoting the flick. See the photos after the cut...

Three new cases of Ebola recorded in Guinea

According to a senior health official in Guinea who spoke yesterday Wednesday, October 28, three more people have been infected with the Ebola virus. According to Fode Tass Sylla, spokesman for the national centre for the fight against Ebola, the three were infected in Forecariah in western Guinea from the family of a woman who died of Ebola and whose body was handled without appropriate protection.

 "In all, nine sick people are being treated at our centres throughout the country and most are connected to the dead woman," he told Reuters, adding that authorities had known of the three fresh cases since Saturday.

Fear of abuse from fans is preventing gay footballers from coming out- Jermaine Jenas

Is the world ready for gay footballer? I doubt it! The player who once donned the colours of London clubs Queens Park Rangers and Tottenham Hotspurs says players are scared of receiving abuse from fans and as a result will do anything to prevent revealing their gay status.

The Mirror last weekend revealed two Premier League stars are set to come out before the start of next season as gay, though neither player's name has been disclosed.

The news received widespread support from within the football community, with Thierry Henry in particular saying it would be great for the sport.

But former Tottenham and Newcastle midfielder Jenas, believes players have no qualms or issues with sharing a dressing room with a gay footballer for a long time now and it is only abuse from the fans that is holding gay players from coming out.


 "I have never come across a single player who has come out in English football, but that's not because of players' attitudes. The place a gay player would get the most support - and the least amount of problems - is from their team-mates." He said in his column for yahoo.


"When you're in a football team you're in it together, no matter what, and every player would accept a gay team-mate with no problem whatsoever.

"It's a fear of being abused at away grounds that most prevents footballers coming out. Football is a game where we still have fans meeting up for a pre-match scrap - we're talking borderline caveman stuff. You can imagine the homophobic songs that would rear their heads if a football player came out as gay."

It should be noted that no Eenglish premier league or even British footballer has ever come out to confirm his gay status.

In 2013 American Robbie Rogers became the second male footballer based in Britain to come out. At the time he was a free agent having been released from Leeds United. After coming out, Rogers briefly retired before reversing his decision and signing for the club Los Angeles Galaxy.

FRC’s investigation of Stanbic IBTC is an orchestrated attack

This is a sponsored post. Read below...

The theory is emerging that the Financial Reporting Council’s media attack on Stanbic IBTC is merely the actualization of a script handed down to Jim Obazee, Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) by his benefactors, the Mahtani brothers.

People familiar with Obazee’s reputation however, betrayed little surprise noting that he had always been known to swing like a pendulum in the direction of money and power.

It would be recalled that Obazee earned his notoriety when he took on the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and present Emir of Kano, SanusiLamidoSanusi, for blowing the whistle when about $20 billion allegedly took flight from the nation’s treasury during the immediate past administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Obazee instigated a phantom audit and investigation of Sanusi’s tenure and subsequently produced a shady indictment of Sanusi thus providing an excuse for Jonathan to suspend the former CBN governor and invariably terminate his appointment as leader of the apex bank. He is currently using the same tactics against Stanbic IBTC to help the Indians achieve their aim of forcefully grabbing more stake in the bank. Obazee allegedly suspended the affected parties over fabricated allegations of misconduct.

Nobody knows if truly, Bhagwani and Ratan Mahtani commands Jim Obazee, Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) by a pay-leash, but everybody thinks Obazee has sold out to the Indian brothers and owners of Churchgate Nigeria Limited. And the reason is hardly farfetched: the recent suspension ofthe registration of four directors of Stanbic IBTC and that of its audit engagement partner, KPMG, by the FRC, was reportedly masterminded by the Mahtanis through their alleged pawn and gofer in the FRC, Obazee.

The FRC issued the suspension accusing the affected parties of what it called, ‘financial misstatements.’ The council also called on the Central Bank Nigeria (CBN) and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to investigate Stanbic IBTC and KPMG. The council in a report released on Monday, also noted, that KPMG Professional Services, remains suspended until its innocence in the matter is ascertained.

But reacting to the report, Stanbic IBTC Holdings described the FRC allegations as “inaccurate and unfortunate,” noting, that “although the matter is in court, we are constrained to respond to certain aspects of the report for the benefit of our stakeholders and the general public.

“Stanbic IBTC is a very responsible organization and fully complies with all extant laws and regulations in Nigeria and international best practices applicable to the conduct of its business,” claimed the bank. Although the FRC named four directors suspended to include AtedoPeterside, Sola David-Borha, Arthur Oginga and Dare Owei, but the bank said, “Contrary to the media reports, the Directors of Stanbic IBTC have NOT been ousted. The directors, who are from Nigeria and elsewhere, are reputable individuals who uphold the best corporate governance practices and whose credibility, integrity and proven track record are impeccable”.

According to FRC, “the schedules supplied to the council by Stanbic IBTC revealed that the total fee paid to KPMG Professional Services for non-audit services was inconsistent with what was disclosed in the financial statements for the years under review.”

The Mahtani brothers who naturalized to Nigerian citizenship, have been fingered in series of corruption cases recently; they have been accused of fleecing Nigeria off crucial taxes even as they strategically hound competitors off the business arena. Recent developments indicate that they are at their antics again, trying to muscle innocent Nigerians to take over their businesses or force them to part with huge stakes. Their current move against Stanbic IBTC and its executives have raised several eyebrows in the financial business sector as stakeholders are wary that they just might have their way given Stanbic IBTC’s seeming inexperience and unsavoury skills at engaging the brothers and their stooge, Obazee, in the filth of mudslinging, which is unfortunately the forte of Obazee and the Mahtanis.

Why the Mahtanis are gunning for Stanbic IBTC’s jugular.
The Mahtanis used to own 100 per cent of the former Regent Bank Plc which in the various mergers and acquisitions that took place in the Nigerian finance industry teamed up with IBTC and Chartered Bank in 2005 to form IBTC Chartered Bank Plc and they held significant shares of the hybrid institution resulting from that merger.

However, the Mahtanis’ stake suffered significant decline when IBTC Chartered Bank Plc in further consolidation, aligned with Standard Bank in 2007. At the end of this second merger, the equity of the Indians was notably diluted and it seemed like they were left holding the short end of the stick, with just a paltry amount of shares in Stanbic IBTC Plc.

Ever since, the Indians with Nigerian passports have resorted to desperate tactics to arm-twist the financial institution to their advantage.

Senate screens INEC Commissioner nominees, Soyebi Adedeji

 

The senate has screened INEC Commissioner nominee Soyebi Adedeji. He was appointed by the Council of State on October 21st.

During his presentation, Soyebi spoke on the advantages and disadvantages of E-voting. He stressed that there is no election that is flawless in the world. The INEC Commissioner nominee spoke on the need for some modifications in the use of card readers as well as the need for training and re-training of their staff.

Majek Fashek urges the government to rehabilitate mental health patients

According to Reggae icon, Majek Fashek, who is battling drug alcohol abuse & just came out rehab, 'mental health is very important in the lives of people and a nation.' Speaking at the 46th Annual General Conference and Scientific Meeting of the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria (APN) in Lagos, themed 'Mental Health as a Driver for Positive Change', he said, 

“Mental health is not a yardstick to look down upon people. There is need to create a system to manage or rehabilitate people who are not mentally balanced and as well create more awareness on mental health challenges and appropriate management. Government should look into how to rehabilitate mental health patients as most of them have great potentials and talents.'

Sen. GNS Pwajok, Plateau state's Gubernatorial aspirant has died

Senator Gyang Nyam Pwajok, the Plateau State PDP gubernatorial candidate in the last election has died. He died this morning in India after a battle with kidney disease.

Pwajok fought a close battle in the April governorship election, losing to the eventual winner and now governor, Simon Lalong. Olisa Metuh has confirmed his passing! May his soul rest in peace.

North West - The Balmain Ballerina...tells paparazzi - 'I said no pictures'

The two-year-old daughter of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West wore an adorable white tutu and custom-made Balmain coat to her Ballet class. Pics taken by paparazzi show her arriving at the dance studio in LA. There's also an adorable video trending on Instagram in which she warns photographers in a cute voice to stop taking pictures saying ' I said no pictures'. see more pics and the video...

Sen. GNS Pwajok, Plateau state's Gubernatorial aspirant has died

Senator Gyang Nyam Pwajok, the Plateau State PDP gubernatorial candidate in the last election has died. He died this morning in India after a battle with kidney disease.

Pwajok fought a close battle in the April governorship election, losing to the eventual winner and now governor, Simon Lalong. Olisa Metuh has confirmed his passing! May his soul rest in peace.

Photos: 27 Nigerian students graduates from The Royal Jordanian Air Academy

The Royal Jordanian Air Academy (RJAA) celebrated the graduation of 27 Nigerian students. 25 of the students have completed the requirements of engineering structures and aircraft engines. The Director General of RJAA, Mohammed Khawaldeh, congratulated the graduates and wished them the best of luck in the aviation industry.

"The good relationship between our two countries makes our cooperation in the field of aviation much easier and closer," Khawaldeh added.

He pointed that the RJAA adopts high standards and keeps pace with technological advancements in the aviation world to prepare qualified pilots and aircraft technicians.

Artist creates cartoon characters out of balloons (photos)

Rob Driscoll, also known as Bowtie Balloon Guy, works as a balloon artist and magician in Portsmouth, where he regularly creates work which he showcases on his Facebook page. He has worked with balloons since he was 19 and his passion for creating balloon sculptures led him to complete a number of personal challenges, including 365 Days of Balloons, where he created a new, unique model every day for a year, posting the results on social media. See some photos after the cut..

All of his work is available on his website My Daily Balloon..

Fear of abuse from fans is preventing gay footballers from coming out- Jermaine Jenas

Is the world ready for gay footballer? I doubt it! The player who once donned the colours of London clubs Queens Park Rangers and Tottenham Hotspurs says players are scared of receiving abuse from fans and as a result will do anything to prevent revealing their gay status.

The Mirror last weekend revealed two Premier League stars are set to come out before the start of next season as gay, though neither player's name has been disclosed.

The news received widespread support from within the football community, with Thierry Henry in particular saying it would be great for the sport.

But former Tottenham and Newcastle midfielder Jenas, believes players have no qualms or issues with sharing a dressing room with a gay footballer for a long time now and it is only abuse from the fans that is holding gay players from coming out.


 "I have never come across a single player who has come out in English football, but that's not because of players' attitudes. The place a gay player would get the most support - and the least amount of problems - is from their team-mates." He said in his column for yahoo.


"When you're in a football team you're in it together, no matter what, and every player would accept a gay team-mate with no problem whatsoever.

"It's a fear of being abused at away grounds that most prevents footballers coming out. Football is a game where we still have fans meeting up for a pre-match scrap - we're talking borderline caveman stuff. You can imagine the homophobic songs that would rear their heads if a football player came out as gay."

It should be noted that no Eenglish premier league or even British footballer has ever come out to confirm his gay status.

In 2013 American Robbie Rogers became the second male footballer based in Britain to come out. At the time he was a free agent having been released from Leeds United. After coming out, Rogers briefly retired before reversing his decision and signing for the club Los Angeles Galaxy.

See Olamide Looking So Frosh On A New Rolls Royce

Olamide and Omo Baba Olowo, Davido, turn up looking handsome by two white customize Rolls Royce in a new video that was shot by Sesan. Olamide sure looks frosh in his all-white outfit!

Nigeria Will Be Better In 2 Years Under Buhari – PDP Chieftain Confesses He Voted For Buhari

A Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Sa’idu Gumburawa, has expressed optimism that Nigeria will be a better place in the next two years under President Muhammadu Buhari.

Gumburawa, a former member of the House of Reps, said on Tuesday at Gumburawa village in Wamakko LGA of Sokoto State that “the change agenda of Buhari would start maturing in the next two years.

“I am a PDP man, but i voted for Buhari during the last presidential election due to my conviction that he has the Nigerian project topmost in his mind.”

He suppoorted the administration’s renewed fight against corruption, and advised the President to ignore unnecessary distractions, especially attacks coming the PDP leadership against his anti-corruption drive.

Gumburawa, who was also a former board member of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), however, said Buhari should also heed constructive criticisms.

"He should listen to any constructive criticism aimed at facilitating the reformation of the country. Moral and material corruption have been the bane of Nigeria’s socio-economic development.

"Fighting the monster to a standstill is good for Nigeria, and proactive measures should be taken to bring back all the country’s stolen funds stashed outside the country,” he said.

On insecurity, Gumburawa said the government had “so far taken the right steps to combat the menace of insurgency, kidnapping, oil theft and cattle rustling, among other crimes.

"More efforts should be made to provide the needed arms and ammunition, transportation, incentives and other logistics to the various security agencies in the country, to enable them discharge their mandate effectively.”

Beyonce’s first boyfriend betrays her, tells their story to a biographer

Beyoncé’s has had two men in her life. Her first love, Lyndall Locke and now husband, Jay Z. Lyndall, betrayed Beyonce by cooperating with author J. Randy Taraborrelli for his upcoming tell-all book ‘Becoming Beyoncé': The Untold Truth…’
An except from ‘Becoming Beyoncé’ on The Daily Mail reads,

She was 16 and Lyndall was driving Beyoncé and her cousin Angie to the beach in a five-car convoy of friends. ‘A car suddenly pulled in front of me, crossed to the side of the road then flipped and fell right off the highway.’

Lyndall screeched to a halt and raced down the embankment to check on the occupants of the other car (who were unharmed). When he returned, Beyoncé and Angie had driven off. ‘When I finally got a lift home I was furious. Beyoncé told me, “I can’t be around a mess like that. I have to think smart and staying there would not have been smart.” ’

‘Becoming Beyoncé: The Untold Story’ will go on sale everywhere on October 27.

Disturbing footage of a police officer brutally assaulting a high school student

The video, shared by Shaun King on twitter and thought to have been filmed by a fellow student of Spring Valley High School, in Columbia, South Carolina, shows a Police Officer named as Deputy Ben Fields asking a girl to rise from a classroom desk. The girl refused and the officer wraps a forearm around her neck. The officer then tips the attached chair and desk backward until she slams to the floor.

He then throws the girl several feet across the floor to the front of the classroom where he ordered her hands behind her back and applied handcuffs throwing a student across a classroom floor.

School officials and sheriff’s deputies said they are investigating the incident.

     “Pending the outcome of the investigation, the district has directed that the school resource officer not return to any school in the district,” Richland Two Superintendent Debbie Hamm said.

Deputy Fields will be placed on administrative duties as authorities investigate his handling of the female student, Richland County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Curtis Wilson confirmed.

Saraki, A Threat To Big Interests In APC – Senator Shehu Sani

Who would have thought that Shehu Sani will abandon his neutrality stand so soon all because his 'enemy', Nasir El-Rufai, who became governor of Kanuda State against his wish, is one of those with evidences against the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, for his alleged false assets declaration case?

In this interview with select journalists, Senator Sani had a lot to say about Saraki, the senate battle:

Many were amazed that  senators escorted Senate president to the court for his hearing on the case brought against him by Code of Conduct Bureau. Were they trying to intimidate the jury?

I have been taken to court on many occasions as an activists, even military tribunals and I have also taken some people to court. My view of a court is that, in as much as it is a legal and judicial institution, it is also a public arena. Journalists can go to court, observers can also go there. Your presence in court will in no way exonerate the accused nor your absence implicate him in his case. Appearance in court has no legal value to the judge and as the president of the senate and also chairman of the national assembly, if such a leader is taken to court for whatever reason, there is nothing wrong with people supporting him. 

Even if all the staff of the national assembly including the security personal go to the tribunal, they will neither add nor subtract any value to the case. It is a case between the senate president and the state. I have not been to the court myself but I will go next time to know what is happening there so that when people like you ask me questions, I will not depend on a third hand information. Solidarity has no value in the evidence before a court. You can fill up the whole court with one million people, the judge will passed judgment based on the facts on ground. That is why some court ruling usually disappoint an entire population of people. Court judgment are not based on popular feelings or moral feelings, they are based on facts, evidence and witnesses.

There is this belief that the senate president trial has a lot to do with the 2019 presidential elections, do you share this view?

I don’t know of any problem between the senate president and Mr. President. Buhari is the president and Nigerians elected him into office. He is not wanting to be a president, he is already one. He can take his bills and budget to the National Assembly confidently because his party is the majority. Saraki’s problem is being engineered, fanned, propelled, sponsored and sustain by forces that see him as a threat to them in 2019 or 2013…

Do you also see him as a threat?

The Saraki threat is not for this government, it is for what is coming ahead. So Saraki is a guinea pig of a conflict of ambition whereby if he wasn’t a senate president, he couldn’t have been in this spot light. And if he is not a threat in the future, he wouldn’t be passing through what he is passing through now. If saraki is in contest with Buhari, I will support Buhari, but Buhari has never said Saraki is in contest with him. He has never told us that and with his philosophy of being for everybody and for nobody, it also exonerates him from the problem saraki is facing today. But there are puppeteers who felt that pinning him down to a case of corruption will discredit him, will keep him busy and make him unsellable for the future. Buhari is not talking about future office, he is already occupying the pinnacle of that office and he can get what he wants from all the chambers of the national assembly. So Saraki does not pose a threat to Buhari.

Are these forces within the party or outside?

Of course they are within the party, where else will they come from? It is just a matter of time the identity of those who are interested in Saraki’s case will become open. Right now they are in the back shooting missiles, but it is just a question of time, light will cast on their faces and their activities will come to the open.

Going back to Kaduna state, what is your relationship with Governor Nasir el-Rufai?

He is the governor of Kaduna state with his office and residence based in Kaduna city and I am a senator, representing Kaduna Central where we host the office and resident of the state governor.

- when a man talk about his governor who is in the same party with him, then you know where he stands.

PDP Headquarters Rejects Verdict Against Governor Wike

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, headquarters has declared as unacceptable the verdict of the River State governorship election tribunal sitting in Abuja, which sacked Governor Nyesom Wike.

In a statement signed by PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, the party said:

“Indications to this spurious judgment had months ago been hinted to the PDP, which in turn, alerted the nation and the international community of the heinous plot by the APC government to use the judiciary and various security agencies to reverse the victory of the PDP in Rivers, Delta, Akwa-Ibom, Taraba and Abia states.

“We invite Nigerians and the international community to recall various reprehensible steps taken by the APC government that culminated in this ruling as well as the ridiculous Wednesday’s verdict of the Akwa-Ibom state governorship election tribunal, also sitting in Abuja.”

The party listed some of the allegations against the APC as:

1. The curious and controversial relocation of the elections tribunals from their states to Abuja without any justification.

2. The constant juggling of judicial officers and members of governorship elections tribunal in PDP states, especially, Rivers and Akwa-Ibom states.

3. Constant harassment of judicial and electoral officers involved in the governorship election cases in these state, using agencies of government, particularly, the Directorate of State Services (DSS) under the direct command of a known APC member, Alhaji Lawal Daura.

4. Constant threats, intimidation and coercing of witnesses against the PDP in the tribunals.

5. The recent mass transfer of security operatives, especially the DSS and police personnel that actually participated in the conduct of the elections in Rivers and Akwa-Ibom, ostensibly to frustrate the course of genuine evidences in the process.

“The bias in the judgment against the PDP in Rivers as well as Akwa-Ibom is evidenced in the contradictions inherent in the trial process of the two cases and the verdicts therein, whereby the tribunals clearly disregarded standing legal norm that a petitioner must establish prove of claims.

“Also curious is the fact that after both the petitioner and respondent agreed before the tribunal that both card reader and manual accreditations were used for the election, the tribunal still went ahead to base its decision on issues of card reader.

“While it is convenient to them to use legal technicalities to deny PDP victory in Imo, Lagos, Ogun and Yobe states, the same rules are misapplied to wickedly favour APC petitioners in Rivers and Akwa-Ibom states.

“It is therefore evinced that these contradictions are direct fall-out of compromises as well as boasts by the APC of being in direct and remote control of the tribunals.

“If not, how can one explain the fact that while governorship elections are being upturned in PDP states, in APC states, where similar claims and facts are in contention, elections are being upheld.

“Further proof of bias by the Rivers tribunal is the fact that less than 24 hours after various counsels submitted nine written addresses and documents, the tribunal rushed its notice of judgment, an action ostensibly aimed at ambushing the pending Supreme Court action on the issue of jurisdiction regarding the relocation of the tribunal outside River state, which was due to be delivered on Tuesday.

“This is not withstanding the fact that the tribunal has up to seven days after of receipt of addresses, to deliver its judgment, but chose instead, to rush to deliver this spurious verdict even on a Saturday, a development eliciting suspicion that the judgment may have since been predetermined and written even before the commencement of the case.

“The PDP calls on all Nigerians and the international community to note this growing manipulation of the judiciary by the APC government, a factor which portends great danger to our democracy and the stability of our country.

“Nigerians would want to recall that under the PDP-led government with former President Goodluck Jonathan’s commitment to the tenets of democracy as encapsulated in the safeguard of ‘one man one vote’ and the independence of the judiciary, the PDP conceded electoral defeat in Edo, Anambra, and Imo states without attempting to collect victory through executive manipulation of the judicial process.

“The PDP restates unequivocally that this judgments must not stand in view of the prevailing inherent contradictions, in addition to the huge threat they portend to our democracy and national stability,” the party said.

PDP further charged all lovers of democracy, particularly its members in Rivers and Akwa-Ibom states, not to be daunted, saying the judgments would not stand the test of the law and the will of the people.

“We therefore reassure that the PDP will do all within the ambit of the law to resist this criminal attempt by the APC to steal and thwart the will of the people,” the statement said.