ZYNGA NEWS

A newly appointed Judge of the Nasarawa  High Court, Hon. Justice Tanze Benjamin Makama is dead. The Nasarawa State Judiciary was thrown in to mourning with the loss of the revered jurist who passed away on the 5th of March, 2024. Justice Makama’s death comes as a shock to the legal community, as he had only recently taken office in December 2023. According to sources close to the family, Justice Makama had been battling an undisclosed ailment prior to his passing, though the exact nature of the sickness and cause of death is yet to be disclosed. Justice Makama’s appointment to the High Court of Justice Nasarawa State Judiciary on December 29, 2023, was in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the legal profession.  Throughout his career, he demonstrated a deep commitment to upholding the rule of law and serving the people of Nasarawa State with integrity and fairness. Additionally, before his elevation to the bench, Justice Makama was a former chairman of the Nigerian Bar As

The independence of the judiciary has been a cause of concern and discourse over time. There is a consensus that for democracy to thrive in adherence to the principle of separation of powers where all arms of government, perform optimally as provided for, in Sections 4, 5 and 6 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), each of the arms, must be allowed to independently carry out its assignment, in line with international best practices. For the judiciary, the availability of qualified judges in their required number is a core condition for independence, as judges who are overworked and stretched beyond limits may lose their edge.  The issue of inadequate judges seems to be a challenge in the Oyo State judiciary as it has only 23 judges to contend with the humongous caseload before its high courts due to the continuous depletion in number of serving judges as a result of retirement and elevation. This is what makes the issue of appointment of judges in Oy

  Justice F. Giwa Ogunbanjo of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday, January 22, 2024, admitted a fresh exhibit against Emmanuella Eteta Ita, Head of Stakeholders Unit of the Federal Inland Revenue Services, FIRS and Surestart School Ltd in a trial within trial to determine the admissibility of her statement with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. Ita and Surestart School Ltd are standing trial on a 25-count charge bordering on criminal misappropriation, diversion, criminal breach of trust and money laundering to the tune of 2billion naira. Ita’s counsel, Paul Erokoro had objected to the admissibility of the statement of her client before the court, claiming that it was exacted from her under duress and in the absence of her counsel.  This came even as the defendant reportedly volunteered her statement to EFCC's investigators in the presence of Eka Didara-Abasi Akpata, a lawyer from the Federal Inland  Revenue Service, FIRS, who accompanied her to the

Justice Peter Lifu Odo of the Federal High court Lagos has been moved to the Abuja division of the court. Justice Lifu will occupy the space left vacant following the elevation of Justice A.R.  Mohammed to the Court of Appeal who w ill fill the Sharia slot on the appellate court bench. A notice dated Thursday, January 11, 2023 stated that Justice Lifu’s resumption in Abuja is with immediate effect. It will be recalled that, Justice Lifu is the courageous judge that struck out the Federal Government’s suit seeking recovery and forfeiture of the over N70 trillion it claimed was hidden in 29 bank accounts by top government officials.  The judge noted that the case, filed in 2021, was not diligently prosecuted. On May 24, 2022, the revered jurist granted an order restraining transport unions from collecting union dues and levies from commercial drivers who are non-union members in all motor parks in Lagos State. He dismissed a suit by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seeking to disqualif

By: TOLU MUSTAPHA  The Lagos state Judicary led by Hon. Justice Kazeem Olanrewaju Alogba has established two additional Judicial divisions covering new geographical areas across the state.p A public notice issued on 10th January, 2024, the Lagos State Judiciary announced the creation of the Eti-Osa Judicial Division and the Yaba/Surulere Judicial Division. The Eti-Osa Division will cover the entire Eti-Osa Local Government Area, Eti-Osa East LCDA and Iru/Victoria Island LCDA. While the Yaba/Surulere Division will cover Lagos Mainland LG, Surulere LG and Yaba LCDA. The Chief Registrar, Lagos state High court, T.A Elias, said commencement of legal operations, filing of new cases and adjudication will start immediately in the two new courts. The notice however clarified that cases already instituted in other divisions will continue to be heard there except otherwise directed by the Chief Judge. The creation of the divisions is expected to improve access to justice and decongest existing c

Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja has ordered that Professor Cyril Ndifon, the suspended Dean of Faculty of Law, University of Calabar (UNICAL), be remanded at the Kuje Centre of the Nigerian Correctional Service pending the conclusion of his bail application. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had on Monday, arraigned Ndifon in court on four (4) count charge over an alleged sexual misconduct against some of his students. The Professor of Law however pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to him.

  The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja has issued an order to freeze the accounts of the Oyo state government in ten commercial banks across the country. The order was issued by Justice A. O. Ebong in a ruling on a proceeding initiated by ex-council chiefs in Oyo state, sacked on May 29, 2019 by Governor Seyi Makinde, and who in 2021 got a N4,874,889,425.60 judgment against Makinde and other officials/agencies of the state. The other officials/agencies listed with Makinde as judgment debtors, by virtue of the May 7, 2021 judgment of the Supreme Court, are the Attorney General, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Accountant General of Oyo State, Speaker of the House of Assembly, the House of Assembly and the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC). The garnishee proceeding is intended by the ex-council chiefs, led by Bashorun Majeed Ajuwon, to recover the balance of N3,424,889,425.60 (N3.5b) which is outstanding from the actua

  Read the full Communique below THE COMMUNIQUE ISSUED BY THE NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION, IBADAN BRANCH, AT THE END OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE WHICH WAS HELD ON THE 7TH DAY OF NOVEMBER 2023 AT THE AARE AFE BABALOLA BAR CENTRE, IYAGANKU, IBADAN. INTRODUCTION: Consequent upon the resolution reached at the Monthly General Meeting of NBA, Ibadan Branch which held on 4th November, 2023, at the Aare Afe Babalola Bar Centre, Iyaganku G.R.A., Ibadan, the Executive Committee of the Bar Communicated the Bar’s resolution to the Oyo State Judiciary vide a letter dated 4th November, 2023 and received by the Oyo State Judiciary on 6th November, 2023 demanding the total withdrawal and or suspension of the Pre-Action Protocols as contained in the Oyo State High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2022 among other requests of the Bar. Further to the resolution of the Bar, that a Press Conference be held in addition to the letter issued on the Oyo State Judiciary, the Executive Committee of NBA, Ibadan Branch held