Boston Marathon Bomber Files For Re-trial

Lawyers for the Boston Marathon bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, filed a motion for a new trial Monday, less than two weeks after he was formally sentenced to death for the 2013 attack.

The motion did not contain any details on Tsarnaev’s legal arguments, saying only that a new trial is “required in the interests of justice.”

Tsarnaev, 21, was convicted of 30 federal charges in the bombing, which killed three people and injured more than 260. The jury recommended the death penalty, and a federal judge sentenced him to death on June 24.

Federal Housing Authority CEO faces contempt suit

Punch reports

The Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Housing Authority, Prof. Mohammed Al-Amin, risks imprisonment over his failure to obey an order of the National Industrial Court in Abuja, which directed him to reverse the suspension of the Managing Director of a subsidiary of the FHA, the FHA Homes Ltd., Roland Igbinoba.

Following a suit filed by Igbinoba, challenging his suspension from office, Justice M.N. Esowe, on June 19, 2015, granted an interim injunction restraining the respondents to the suit, including Al-Amin, from going ahead to implement the suspension letter dated June 2, 2015.

The respondents in the suit are the FHA, FHA Homes Limited and Al-Amin.

Igbinoba, in an application dated June 30, 2015, asked the court to commit both Al-Amin and the Acting Managing Director of FHA Homes, Haytuddeen Atiku, to prison for disobeying the court order which had been served on them on June 22, 2015.

Justice Tsoho withdraws from Babalakin’s suit against AGF, EFCC

Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High, Lagos, on Monday withdrew from adjudicating over a fundamental rights suit filed by Chairman of Bi-Courtney Limited, Dr. Wale Babalakin (SAN).

It follows Babalakin’s petition to the Chief Judge, Justice Ibrahim Auta, praying him to re-assign the case to a different judge.

The suit is a fundamental rights enforcement action against the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Babalakin is seeking an order barring them from arraigning him on criminal charges filed at the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja.

Through his lawyers Wale Akoni (SAN) and Abiodun Layonu (SAN), Babalakin in the June 19 petition, said there was no guarantee he would get justice from Justice Tsoho.

According to him, the judge vacated an interim injunction he made on April 29, barring the respondents from going on with the proposed arraignment pending the determination of the fundamental rights enforcement suit.

CBN N8bn trial drama continues – bias alleged

Punch reports:

A new twist was introduced to the N8bn Central Bank of Nigeria mutilated currency fraud suit on Friday when counsel for two of the accused persons, Olalekan Ojo, asked Justice Olayinka Faaji of the Federal High Court, Ibadan Division, Oyo State, to step down from the case, alleging that the judge had displayed a high level of bias against his clients in his earlier ruling on bail applications.

At the resumed hearing on Friday, Ojo said that with the reasons proffered by the judge on June 19, 2015 while denying the bail applications filed on behalf of his clients, the judge had already presumed the suspects guilty.

He therefore called on Justice Faaji to disqualify himself from the case which was instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for another judge to take over.

A witness invited by the EFCC to testify against the staff of CBN and other banks involved in the case was not allowed to stand in the witness box because of the new development.

Okoyomon refused bail

The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on Friday, June 26, 2015 turned down the bail application of Emmanuel Okoyomon, a former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company, NSPM, whose extradition is being sought by the United Kingdom government over his alleged role in the bribery allegation involving officials of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company, NSPM and Securency International Pty of Australia between 2006 and 2008.

However, the court granted Okoyomon’s plea for stay of execution on the order to extradite him.

The UK government had, through the office of Attorney General of the Federation, requested Okoyomon to be extradited to face charges of corruption and money laundering

In a bid to stall his extradition, Okoyomon had, in October, 2014 through his counsel, Alex Iziyon, SAN, challenged the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the application to extradite him.

Insight: Francis Atuche’s discharge

The recent discharge, on technical grounds, of Mr. Francis Atuche, former Managing Director of Bank PHB, bodes ill for the justice system and for the nation as a whole.

Mr. Atuche was facing a N25.7 billion, 27-count charge of stealing and conspiracy at the Lagos High Court. Also charged with him was his wife, Elizabeth, and Mr. Ugo Anyanwu, a former Chief Financial Officer of Bank PHB. The presiding judge, Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo, ruled that the charges brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) lacked merit.

The judge claimed that the court was bound by rulings of the Court of Appeal in similar cases involving Messrs Okey Nwosu and Erastus Akingbola, where charges brought had been struck out owing to lack of jurisdiction. The appellate court had ruled that criminal cases involving the capital market were the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal High Court.

FHC stops FRSC from arresting owners of ‘old’ licences

The Federal High Court in Lagos has held that the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) cannot arrest any motorist for not having the new driver’s licence if the old version is yet to expire.

Ruling on a suit brought by a lawyer, Mr Tope Alabi, Justice John Tsoho granted an order of perpetual injunction restraining FRSC “from compelling the valid driver licence holders, including the plaintiff to renew same when such driver licences have not expired.”

Alabi, who jointed the National Assembly, FRSC and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as respondents, had prayed the court to hold that by several sections of the FRSC Act, No. 22, 2007, the corps’ bid to control the production and issuance of number plates and driver licences is unconstitutional, null and void.