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Nigerian court denies separatist leader Kanu bail, orders trial

Nigerian court denies separatist leader Kanu bail, orders trial

A Nigerian federal court denied separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu bail and instead ordered an accelerated trial of a pending seven-count terrorism charge against him. Kanu, a British citizen who leads the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement, disappeared from Nigeria after skipping bail in 2017. He was arrested in Kenya in 2021 and charged in Nigeria with terrorism. In December, Nigeria's Supreme Court overturned a judgement by a lower court that dropped the terrorism charges against Kanu, setting the stage for his trial to commence. "I will respond to all charges and the court will see that they are all lies,"…
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Nigerian court grants bail to ex-central bank chief facing fraud charges

Nigerian court grants bail to ex-central bank chief facing fraud charges

A Nigerian court freed on bail former central bank governor Godwin Emefiele, who has been charged with six counts of fraud and corruption. Emefiele, suspended as head of the central bank in June and detained by the security services, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Justice Hamza Muazu granted Emefiele bail subject to the provision of a 300 million naira (roughly $333,000) bond and two sureties with properties in the upmarket Maitama district of the country's capital Abuja. "I hereby admit the applicant (Emefiele) to bail subject to his appearance in court," Justice Muazu said in his ruling. The…
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Nigerian ex-central bank chief remanded in custody pending bail hearing

Nigerian ex-central bank chief remanded in custody pending bail hearing

A Nigerian court remanded former central bank governor Godwin Emefiele in custody on charges of procurement fraud, pending a bail hearing scheduled for Wednesday. Emefiele applied for bail after pleading not guilty to six new graft charges that accused him of "conferring corrupt advantage". Prosecutors cut the charges from a previous 20-count indictment, which he faced along with two others, so he could be tried separately and quickly. "The matter is hereby adjourned to Wednesday, November 22, for ruling on the bail application. Meanwhile, the defendant should be remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre pending the ruling on his bail," Justice Hamza…
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Nigeria: Where are the Abacha billions?

Nigeria: Where are the Abacha billions?

A Nigerian court has directed President Bola Tinubu's government to disclose how much in stolen funds it has recovered from late military ruler Sani Abacha and how the money was used, court documents showed. Abacha ruled Africa's most populous nation and top oil exporter from 1993 until his death in 1998, during which time Transparency International estimated that he took up to $5 billion of public money. He was never charged. A Nigerian rights group asked the High Court in the federal capital Abuja to force the government to account for Abacha's loot since the country returned to civilian rule…
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Nigerian court orders detained central-bank governor to have access to lawyers

Nigerian court orders detained central-bank governor to have access to lawyers

NIGERIA'S High Court has ordered the country's state security service to allow detained central bank governor Godwin Emefiele access to his lawyers, an interim court ruling seen by Reuters showed. Emefiele was suspended by President Bola Tinubu this month as part of the new president's drive to reform the central bank, which went on to remove restrictions on foreign currency trading, to the delight of investors. "The lawyers of the applicant (Emefiele) shall have access to the applicant immediately and regularly, at a reasonable time, pending the determination of the application", Judge Hamza Muazu said in a ruling on Friday. Emifiele's application cited the…
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Nigerian court drops terrorism charges against separatist leader Kanu

Nigerian court drops terrorism charges against separatist leader Kanu

CAMILLUS EBOH NIGERIA'S Court of Appeal dropped terrorism charges against separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu that had been brought by the government, in a unanimous decision by all three judges hearing the case. The lead judge dismissed a seven-count charge of terrorism against Kanu and discharged him, citing that a lower court had no jurisdiction to try the case and that Kanu was abducted and extraordinarily extradited to Nigeria. The two other judges concurred with the ruling. Kanu was not in the courtroom for the ruling. "In view of the fact that the trial court lacks jurisdiction to hear this case…
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Nigeria’s sharia blasphemy law not unconstitutional, court rules

Nigeria’s sharia blasphemy law not unconstitutional, court rules

A Nigerian court ruled that Islamic religious law does not violate the constitution, dismissing a test-case challenge from a singer who was sentenced to death two years ago on the charge of blasphemy. But in a majority decision, the court in northern Kano state also upheld a lower court's call for a retrial. Yahaya Aminu Sharif was convicted of having shared a blasphemous message on WhatsApp and was sentenced to death in August 2020 by a sharia court. The high court in Kano threw out the conviction and ordered a retrial but Sharif appealed, challenging the constitutionality of the religious…
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Court challenge tests authority of Islamic religious law in Nigeria

Court challenge tests authority of Islamic religious law in Nigeria

HAMZA IBRAHIM A Nigerian court reserved judgment on a challenge against sharia law in the mostly Muslim northern state of Kano in a case that will test the authority of Islamic religious law in Africa's most populous country. Nigeria's constitution is neutral on religion. The country is divided between the largely Christian south and mostly Muslim north. Kano is one of the foremost states that enforce sharia law, including the death penalty against blasphemy. In 2020, a 22-year-old singer, Yahaya Aminu Sharif, was sentenced to death while a teenager was jailed for 10 years by Kano Sharia Court over accusations…
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Nigerian‌ ‌court‌ ‌frees ‌alleged‌ ‌separatist‌ ‌

Nigerian‌ ‌court‌ ‌frees ‌alleged‌ ‌separatist‌ ‌

A Nigerian court has ordered the immediate release of a woman held in detention since February accused of being a member of a banned separatist organisation, her lawyer said. The court in Abuja ruled that the police had illegally detained Ngozi Umeadi and ordered it to pay her damages of 50 million naira ($121,500), lawyer Ejiofor Ifeanyi said. Nigerian authorities routinely detain people for months or years without charge. Umeadi was accused of being a member of the Indigenous People of Biafra, which campaigns for the southeastern region to secede. Nigerian authorities blame it for attacks on police stations and…
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Nigerian Shi’ite leader acquitted, freed

Nigerian Shi’ite leader acquitted, freed

GARBA MUHAMMAD A Nigerian court has acquitted Ibrahim Zakzaky, leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), a banned Shi'ite group, of all eight criminal charges against him, defence and prosecution lawyers said. Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenah, had been in detention since 2015 when he was arrested after a clash in which the army killed an estimated 350 people at an IMN compound and a nearby mosque and burial ground in northern Kaduna state. The couple had been facing a range of charges filed by the state government in 2018, including aiding and abetting homicide, unlawful assembly and disruption…
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