BREAKING : Rochas Okorocha receives certificate of return from INEC.

INEC ORDERED TO GIVE CERTIFICATE OF RETURN TO ROCHAS OKOROCHA. 

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to issue Certificate of Return to Rochas Okorocha as the duly elected Senator representing Orlu Imo West Senatorial district of Imo State.

Justice Okon Abang ruled that the decision to deprive Okorocha of the certificate was a “lawless.”

Abang held that only the returning officer of INEC had the constitutional authority to declare a winner.

He held that any person declared a winner by the returning officer remains a winner until petitioners succeed in upturning the declaration at the election tribunal.

The court further ruled that Mr Okorocha had no business being the originator of the petition at the election tribunal.

Justice Abang, who ruled that the federal high court had exclusive jurisdiction to decide on the matter, described INEC’s decision as “lawless and a complete nullity.”

The electoral body (INEC) had said it refused to give Okorocha certificate of return after the returning officer for Imo West senatorial district said he was compelled to declare Okorocha winner.

The question is in what way was he really compelled?

BREAKING: Kaduna Assembly passes bill to grant Pastors, Imams license before preaching

FINALLY YOU HAVE TO GET LICENSE IN ORDER TO PREACH THE GOSPEL IN NIGERIA

The Religious Preaching Regulation law, 1984 before the Kaduna State House of Assembly seeking substitution was on Friday passed into law

The passage of the bill came three years after the bill faced serious criticism from different religious bodies and individuals.

The bill, which purpose is to regulate religious preaching in Kaduna State with a view of promoting religious harmony and peaceful co-existence amongst the residents of the state was brought to the House since 2016.

Presiding over the plenary, the Speaker, Alhaji Aminu Abdullahi Shagali while reading the bill close by close said a state inter-faith Regulatory council has been established with a chairman to be appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the Secretary to the state.

Also, two members representing the Christian and Muslim faith, respectively, to be appointed by the Governor, among others.

According to the Speaker, the bill further has it that the above mentioned council shall hear and determine appeals brought before it arising from the decision of the local government inter-faith Committee and also has power to issue regulations considered necessary to guide the state inter-faith council and local government inter-faith committee in the performance of their functions under the bill if signed into law.

He further mentioned that the bill when signed into law, stipulates that in each of the 23 local Government areas of the state, a committee to be known as the Local Government Inter-faith Committee has to be established

According to him, the local Government Inter-faith committee shall consider and recommend to state Inter-faith Regulation Council all applications for the grant of licence to religious preachers as well as screen and recommend preachers for the grant of license among other functions.

The supplementary provision explained that all cassettes, compact disks (CDs), flash drives or any other communication gadgets containing religious recordings from accredited preachers may be played inside a private dwelling unit or vehicle, entrance porch (zaure), Church, Mosque and any other designated place of worship.

It further stated that any person who plays religious cassette or uses a loud speaker for religious purposes between the hours of 11pm to 4am in a public place, and uses a loudspeaker for religious purposes other than inside Church or Mosque commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years or pay a fine of less than N200,000.00 or both.

The bill added that any person who publicly insults or seeks to incite contempt any religion, by making false statements in such a manner as to be likely to lead to a breach of peace, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term of not less than five years a fine of not less than N100,000.00 or both

Breaking: Former Nigerian dictator's $267M seized from Jersey account

Former Nigerian dictator's $267M seized from Jersey account

The Authorities in Jersey have seized more than $267 million from the family and associates of late Nigerian military dictator Sani Abacha.

According to Jersey's Civil Asset Recovery Fund, the laundered funds recovered from confiscated assets, belonging to the son of the late dictator, Mohammed Abacha, were "derived from corruption" during the military leader's rule in Nigeria.

The money was found in a Channel Islands account held by shell company Doraville Properties Corporation.

It had been frozen by a federal court in Washington in 2014 at the request of prosecutors pursuing criminal proceedings against Mohammed Abacha and his associates.

The stolen funds have now been recovered and paid into a special recovery account after a five-year legal battle. The fund will be shared between the Nigerian government, Jersey and the US government, according to Jersey authorities overseeing the case.