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ECOWAS Court Clears Wrongly Accused Nigerian-born Former Chief Justice Of Gambia

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Justice Joseph Wowo, the Nigerian lawyer, who by dint of hardwork and brilliance, rose to the enviable position of the Chief Justice of The Gambia, until he was pushed out, can now heave a sigh of relief.
Accused of corruption by some Gambians who obviously couldn’t stand a foreigner overseeing the third arm of their government, the ECOWAS Court of Justice, where he took the matter to for adjudication, has not only exonerated him of all the cooked-up allegations, but also awarded $200,000 damages in his favour.
Wowo, it would be recalled, joined The Gambian judiciary in 2000. His uncanny brilliance and divine favour, in 2003, pushed him to the exalted position of the country’s CJ. Being a non-Gambian, new friends and enemies were made in almost equal proportions.
Members of the Gambia Bar Association, expectedly, dominated the latter group. With the arrowheads being Ms Ubna Farage, who was then the President of the Gambia Bar Association and Ms Amie Joof, the Minister of Justice.
The allegations levelled against Justice  Wowo were not properly looked into before he was unceremoniously removed from office by the then President Yahaya Jammeh. Alarmed, he contested his removal first via the Security Authority, which later initiated another investigation into the matter. At the end of their investigation, no announcement was made with regards to their findings. And this led to Justice Joseph Wowo calling a press conference to put the records straight.
President Yahaya Jammeh saw Justice Wowo’s action as an affront, and decided that he should be put away for a long time. Hence, the shocking charade of a trial that culminated in his incarceration.
The world cried out against this travesty of justice. Eventually, he was granted State Pardon. But not satisfied with the State Pardon, and in a bid to also clear his name permanently, Justice Wowo approached the ECOWAS Court of Justice, sitting in Abuja, Nigeria, in a Suit – JUSTICE JOSEPH WOWO VS THE GAMBIA and with No: ECW/CCJ/APP/06/18, seeking several reliefs.
After painstakingly listening to both parties, and with Judgment No: ECW/CCJ/JUD/09/19, delivered on February 27, 2019, the three Justices, comprising the Hon. Justice Edward Amaoko Asante (Presiding), Hon. Justice Gberi-Be Quattara (Member) and Hon. Justice Keikura Bangura (Member), held as follows:
a) That Justice Emmanuel Nkea who found Justice Joseph Wowo guilty in The Gambia was undergoing a corruption hearing before the same Justice Joseph Wowo and therefore was biased, which resulted in the violation of his human rights and fair trial.
b) That the procedures for the removal of the Chief Justice of The Gambia as stated in the 1997 Constitution of The Gambia, with respect to a tribunal conducting an independent investigation, sending the outcome to the National Assembly, who will then, by a two-third vote, remove the Chief Justice, were not complied with.
c) That the Hon. Justice Joseph Wowo has been cleared of any stigma and cannot now be described as an ex-convict.
d) Award of nominal damages of the sum of U.S.D $150,000.00 to Justice Joseph Wowo for the violation of his rights to fair hearing and unjust incarceration.
e) Payment of Attorney’s fees of U.S.D. $50,000.00 and other costs to be assessed as a result of the application.

 

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Breaking: Wike Plans to Attend Thursday’s PDP NEC Meeting

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By Eric Elezuo

The immediate past Governor of Rivers State, and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, may have concluded plans to attend the much advertised National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), billed to hold on Thursday, in Abuja.

Impeccable source, who is in the know, told The Boss that the minister, whose membership of the PDP is yet to be revoked even as he frolicks with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and serving in the President Bola Tinubu government as a minister.

The Source told The Boss that Wike’s impending presence at the NECeeting on Thursday is not unconnected with plans, already hatched with some governors, to weaken the opposition PDP.

“Yes, we have on good authority that FCT minister, Wike is planning to attend the NEC meeting tomorrow all in a bid to weaken the fabrics of the PDP, and pave the way for the continuation of the Tinubu administration come 2027, and by extension, relapse Nigeria to a full blown one party state.

“From every indication, Wike and his co-travellers, are bent on unleashing the same crisis ravaging the third force, Labour Party, and Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso’s Nigerian National People’s Party (NNPP) on the PDP for the APC to remain the only political party in the country, and ensure that Tinubu has no challenger, come 2027,” the Source said.

It would be recalled that Wike has boasted over and again that there’s no opposition against Tinubu’s re-emergence in 2027, and that they have made sure of that. He has been compensated with the Ministerial job after he withdrew support for his party, and supported the APC and Tinubu to emerge as national government.

The Source further revealed that in the attempt to actualize the intended one party  state, a lot of funding is ongoing to ensure that concerned stakeholders are ‘settled’ handsomely.

Wike, prior, during and after the 2023 general elections, has been floating in between the two major political parties; the APC and the PDP. While he claim to still be a member of the PDP, he is functioning as a minister in an APC government, mocking the inability of his party to discipline him.

Political stakeholders have concluded that the outcome of Thursday’s PDP NEC meeting will determine the path Nigeria’s political trajectory will take, and that it may portend the end of multi-party system and political democracy if Wike succeeds in his plan.

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Bribery, Corruption: APC Suspends National Chairman, Ganduje

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The All Progressives Congress ward in Ganduje, Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area, has suspended the party’s National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje.

The party ward legal adviser, Halliru Gwanzo, announced the suspension while addressing newsmen in Kano State on Monday.

Gwanzo cited allegations of bribery against Ganduje levelled by the Kano State Government as the reason for the suspension.

“We decided to suspend Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje from the party due to the seriousness of the allegations against him,” Gwanzo said.

Meanwhile, efforts to contact the Chief Press Secretary to the APC National Chairman, Mr Edwin Olufo, failed as his mobile phone was unreachable.

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Akpabio Commits to Collaboration with Tinubu, Governor Umo Eno

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The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has stated his commitment to working closely with Nigeria’s President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and Governor Umo Eno to ensure the delivery of democratic benefits to the people of Akwa Ibom State.

Akpabio stated this in his country home, Ukana, Essien Udim Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom, while briefing his constituents on the journey so far as their representative in the red chamber.

He assured the people of Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District of his commitment to their welfare in appreciation of their total support for him, President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in last year’s election.

The Highpoint of the constituency briefing was the distribution of over 10,000 bags of rice and other essentials for his constituents from the wards, to the local governments.

A statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Jackson Udom, quoted Akpabio as saying, “I am here once again, to thank you for standing by me, our President and the party, before, during and even after last year’s elections. I have come to say thank you and also bring Renewed Hope to you all.

“As the President is doing his own, the Senate President is also doing his bit and being complemented by the state governor, Akwa Ibom would be the better for it. We have finished elections and politics, we are now into governance. The governor of the state must touch you, because he is the governor of all the people in the state irrespective of political affiliation.

” As I am touching you now from the political angle, I will also touch the state without any political party affiliation. Most of the projects we are putting in place would be used by people resident in the state. Relax, things are getting better.”

The former Governor of the state, assured his constituents that his current position as the Senate President would be used for the development of the state in collaboration with the President and the Akwa Ibom State Governor.

Hear him: This Senate President is not the one that would be fighting the state government. I will collaborate with , I will collaborate with , to make the state better for us all. We cannot be out of government for a long time. You have to go to a government that carries you along”

Akpabio promised to work for his constituents and Nigeria with all his strength, noting that, “as the President of the Senate, I am for the Southern region and the entire country. I may not come here regularly to tell you what I have been doing for you, but you will be feeling the impact on way or the other. Our unemployed youths would be gainfully employed. I will construct a mini stadium in all the local governments in the district, for our youths to develop their sporting potentials. ”

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