An ex-Armenian lawmaker and influential member of former President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), Mher Sedrakian, has been charged with corruption.

The Investigative Committee said on September 8 that Sedrakian is suspected of abusing his powers to secure the purchase of a large part of a public park by his son and brother when he ran Yerevan’s southern Erebuni district in 1999-2008.

According to the committee, Sedrakian allegedly assisted his relatives in privatizing the 12,000-square-meter plot of land in 2004 after they illegally built properties there.

It was not immediately clear how Sedrakian will plead to the accusations.

The 69-year-old was not arrested, but he was ordered not to leave the country while the investigation continues.
Sedrakian has long been considered a power broker in Erebuni.

Local media have repeatedly implicated his clan in violent attacks on opposition activists and journalists as well as vote rigging, though he has never been charged.

Sedrakian was also dogged by scandals when he represented the former ruling HHK in the Armenian parliament from 2012-2017.

He reportedly insulted and threatened journalists on at least two occasions, drawing strong condemnations from the country’s leading media associations.

Also facing criminal charges are several other controversial HHK figures and former officials.

Some of them have reportedly fled to Russia to avoid imprisonment.

Only one of them, former parliament deputy, Levon Sarkisian, has been extradited to Armenia so far.

A Wuse Zone Six Chief Magistrate Court, Abuja, on Wednesday ordered a 35-year-old driver, Ahmed Danladi, to sweep the court premises for two days for stealing.

The police charged Danladi, of No 44 Oran Street, Wuse Zone One, Abuja with a count of theft by servant.

The Chief Magistrate, Omolola Akindele ordered that the convict should report to the court for two days to sweep the premises after he pleaded guilty to the offense without the option of fine.

Earlier the Prosecution Counsel, Peter Ejike, told the court that the complainant, Samuel Joseph of the same address, reported the matter at Wuse Zone Three Police Divisional Headquarters on Sept. 1.

Ejike further said that the convict working as a driver to Joseph’s boss on the same date stole a cleaning machine, whose value was yet unknown and attempted to pass it to a scavenger over the fence.

The prosecutor said during the police investigation, the convict confessed to committing the offense.

He said that the offense contravened the provisions of Section 289 of the Penal Code Law.

A video production company, Oakfil Productions Limited, has dragged the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, before a Federal High Court in Lagos over the recent amendment of the broadcasting code.

In its deposition before the court, the company contended that the NBC lacks the statutory powers to make amendments or sign the NBC code.

Insisting that the recently reported amendment to the broadcasting code was an act of illegality, the company asked the court to compel NBC to comply with the procedure prescribed by the National Broadcasting Commission Act in making amendments to the code.

It also wants the court to declare that NBC acted ultra vires improperly, in bad faith, and in gross abuse of the powers vested in it by the National Broadcasting Commission Act when it allowed its management to make the sixth edition of the National Broadcasting Code.

Amongst the company’s numerous prayers before the court is an order restraining the NBC from acting on the code or giving effect in any manner whatsoever to the said sixth edition of the National Broadcasting Code.

The NBC, in the new regulation, states that every broadcaster must license its broadcast and/or signal rights in any genre of programming to another broadcaster in Nigeria if the genre of programme enjoys compelling viewership by Nigerians, relates to a product or service that is objectively necessary to be able to compete effectively on a downstream market; or if it is likely to lead to the elimination of effective competition on the downstream markets.

The new subsidiary legislation also stipulates the imposition of a N10 million fine for operators who refuse to comply.

No date has been fixed for hearing of the suit.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Tanko Ibrahim, will on Thursday, inaugurate Governorship Election Petition Tribunals for Edo and Ondo States.

The CJN will swear in 85 judges to adjudicate on petitions that will arise from the impending gubernatorial elections in the two states.

A notice from the Public Relations Officer at the Court of Appeal, Sa’adatu Kachalla, disclosed that the ceremony will take place at the Supreme Court.

Whereas the Edo state governorship election is billed for September 19, the Ondo poll is fixed for October 10.

The notice further indicated that some of the judges will handle cases from by-elections scheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

It said the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, would thereafter organise a one-day training for the 85 judges on Election Petition Tribunal.

The Appeal Court President is empowered by section 1(3) of the Sixth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), to appoint election tribunal Judges.

Election tribunals are established pursuant to Section 285 of the Constitution, as amended, and Section 133 of the Electoral Act 2011, as amended.

While Section 133 (3) of the Electoral Act mandates that election petition tribunals shall be constituted not later than 14 days before an election is held, under Section 258 (6) of the Constitution, the tribunal, must deliver its judgment in writing, within 180 days from the date a petition is filed.

A Benin High Court on Tuesday, awarded the sum of N2.52million in damages against the police authorities for detaining in custody seven men as suspects without trial for over two weeks.

The police had arrested Wilfred Ogbewe, 52, Igbinobono Collins, 26, Salami Osayomore, 25, Odion Osayande, 23, Morgan Uwanboe, 47, Ifeoluwa Oladele, 36, and Agbonrere Festus, 25 over alleged invasion of the State House of Assembly premises in Benin on Aug. 6.

According to the police, the alleged invasion of the state assembly by the men was in a manner that caused breach of peace.

Delivering judgment in the application for Enforcement of Fundamental Human Rights, filed by Matthias Obayuwana, their Counsel, Justice Efe Ikponmwoba held that the arrest and detention of the men was illegal.

Justice Ikponmwoba said that the police arrested the claimants at the premises of the Edo House of Assembly on Aug. 6, detained them at the State Criminal Investigation Department (C.I.D) for four days and later transferred them to the Force Headquarters, Abuja.

She said that the men were further detained for another two weeks without being arraigned before a competent court of jurisdiction.

Justice Ikponmwoba said that though the police could arrest a suspect on grounds of reasonable suspicion of committing an offense, such suspect must be brought before a competent court within the jurisdiction.

She said failure to do so, amounted to a gross violation of the fundamental human rights of the claimants.

The court observed that the claimants had made statements on the date they were arrested to the effect that they were members of the State Vigilante group who were deployed to the premises of the State House of assembly to protect government’s facilities.

Ikponmwoba said that the police never investigated the claims, more so, there was no need to have transferred them to Abuja, even as they were, at no time charged to court for the offense of illegal possession of fire arms they allegedly committed.

The court, however, struck out the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 5, Benin, for being wrongly joined in the suit.

Ikponmwoba subsequently awarded the sum N350,000 damages in favour of each of the seven suspects against the police.

The sum of N10,000 was also awarded against the police in favour of each of the seven suspects.

It could be recalled that the court had on Monday admitted the seven suspects to bail in the sum of N500,000 each with a surety each in like sum.