DISQUIET IN SUPREME COURT OVER MEDICAL TRIPS, ALLOWANCES FOR JUSTICES

THERE are murmurs in the circle of justices of the Supreme Court over the annual medical trips and payable allowances for such trips, the Nigerian Tribune can reliably disclose.

The burgeoning crisis, which centres around the number of times a justice of the apex court could travel abroad for medical check-ups and whether the annual appropriation for such could be taken twice, has reportedly pitted two particular justices from the Northern part of the country against the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mariam Mukthar.

BODE GEORGE, FIVE OTHERS ASK SUPREME COURT TO SET ASIDE THEIR CONVICTIONS

Former chairman of the Board of the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), Olabode George, on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which affirmed the judgment of a Lagos State High Court in which he was convicted for contracts splitting and inflation in 2009.

George, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), alongside five others were convicted and have since served their two-jail terms but the six ex-convicts still believe there was miscarriage of judgment and, therefore, approached the highest court in the land to declare them innocent of the crime they were convicted of.

Other ex-convicts in the matter include Aminu Dabo,. O. Abidoye, Alh. Abdullahi Aminu Tafida, Zanna Maideribi and Sule Aliyu as 2nd to 6th appellants respectively.

ONI ASKS SUPREME COURT TO REINSTATE HIM

Former Governor of Ekiti State, Chief Segun Oni, of the Peoples Democratic Party, on Monday asked the Supreme Court to reinstate him as the governor of the state.

In the alternative, he asked the apex court to remove Governor Kayode Fayemi and direct the swearing in of the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, pending the determination of the case.

Oni, through his counsel, Joe Gadzama, (SAN), stated this when the Supreme Court heard an appeal in which he is challenging the nullification of his election and the subsequent declaration of Fayemi as the governor of the state.

 The Ilorin Division of the Court of Appeal, presided over by the now suspended President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami, had declared Fayemi  governor of Ekiti State on October 15, 2010.

SUPREME COURT ORDERS FRESH TRIAL OF WABARA, OTHERS

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the retrial of a former Senate President, Adolphus Wabara, and others over an alleged N55m bribe-for-budget deal.

The case was brought against Wabara and the other accused persons by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission in 2005.

The other accused persons are a former Minister of Education, Prof. Fabian Osuji; Senator Ibrahim AbdulAzeez, Senator Azuta Mbata and Garba Matazu.

Two other accused persons – Senators Emmanuel Okpede and Badamosi Maccido – have died since the case commenced, and their names have been struck out.

The Supreme Court ordered the retrial in its judgment in an appeal brought by the ICPC against a decision of the Court of Appeal on June 1, 2010.