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Nigeria may collapse without a functional judiciary system – Mike Ozekhome

Published

4 months ago

December 14, 2024

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Mr Ozekhome said this on Thursday in Abuja at the 2024 Conference of the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents (NAJUC).

He charged the judiciary to live up to expectations and ensure that their judgements reflect justice and are not based on technicalities.

Speaking on the role of courts in enforcing judgments, the law professor said court orders must be obeyed until set aside by a higher court.

He said the courts held a balance of scale between feuding parties; otherwise, there might have been chaos in the country. He also said the court was critical in ensuring that judgements were enforced and complied with.

He advised judges to avoid attending occasions organised by politically exposed persons with cases before them, just as he urged them to eschew corruption under any guise.

“I still want to believe at this point that in spite of all the issues the judiciary may have, it still remains the best of the three arms of government. If you remove the judiciary, Nigeria will collapse like a pack of cards.

“The role of the courts is very sacred in the functioning of society and must be held with the highest esteem,” he said.

According to him, the time has now come for Judges to form an association to defend themselves against unfounded allegations. He advocated the establishment of a ‘National Association of Serving Judges’ so that judges could defend themselves.

He called on lawyers to resist the temptation of writing incessant petitions against judges, urging them to appeal the cases instead.

Earlier, the chairman of NAJUC, Kayode Lawal, said that the annual conference was part of efforts to keep judiciary correspondents up to date.

“After the last edition of this conference, we noted with great concern the ugly trend in the court-of-court jurisdictions, easily conflicting decisions and orders on virtually the same issues and parties.

“It is worrisome, sad, and regrettable that the ugly development has continued to exist in spite of warnings from here and there,” Mr Lawal said.

(NAN)

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CNN interrupts Pope funeral coverage for Trump and Zelensky bombshell

Published

11 hours ago

April 26, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky had a meeting ahead of Pope Francis funeral (Image: Getty)

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The broadcaster issued an update on the Ukraine war shortly after covering Trump and Zelensky meeting in Rome.

Broadcaster CNN praised the meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of the funeral of Pope Francis, shortly before revealing a huge bombshell for Zelensky and Ukraine. The brief face-to-face meeting between the pair was caught on camera. It has been reported that the US and Ukrainian Presidents are to meet again after the service.

Clarissa Ward from CNN described the moment between the pair as, “a fitting tribute to the legacy of Pope Francis, who was so passionate about peace.” However the channel subsequently reported Russian President Vladimir Putin claims his country has regained control of Kursk, the border region where Ukraine launched a surprise offensive last year, though Ukraine’s army told them fighting continues.

Commenting on the meeting, Anderson Cooper spoke over footage of the funeral and images of the pair facing each other as they sat in chairs in St Peter’s Basilica. “The White House describes the meeting as, quote, a very productive discussion. We don’t know many details about… what the tone and tenor of it was… Zelensky had previously expressed he would be willing to meet with President Trump when both leaders would be in Italy,” he said.

This meeting marks the first time the two leaders have come face to face since that February Oval Office meeting where Trump berated Zelensky for not demonstrating enough gratitude for American support in their Ukraine war.

Clarissa Ward interjected: “Sitting on these chairs in the Basilica…what a what a fitting tribute to the legacy of Pope Francis, who was so passionate about peace, about ending conflict.

“Given the fractious nature of the relationship between President Trump and President Zelensky over the course of the last few months, to see them sitting there together… (is) very much in spirit with the message of Pope Francis.”

While Trump and Zelensky had their discussion Putin boasted of a huge victory in the war. “The Kyiv regime’s adventure has completely failed,” he said. He congratulated the Russian forces he said defeated the Ukrainian military in the region in what would be a symbolic boost for Moscow at a crucial point in the war.

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Pope Francis’ funeral: Zelensky meets Trump in Rome

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11 hours ago

April 26, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

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President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has met his US counterpart, Donald Trump in Rome, the Italian capital, where both leaders were attending the funeral of Pope Francis.

According to a spokesman for Zelensky, no details were provided of the meeting, but it comes at a critical time in negotiations aimed at bringing an end to fighting between Ukraine and Russia.

On Friday, Trump, who has been pressing both sides to agree a ceasefire, said that there had been productive talks between his envoy and the Russian leadership, and called for a high-level meeting between Kyiv and Moscow to close a deal.

The Republican had previously warned both sides that his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.

Ekwutosblog reports that the meeting in Rome is the first face-to-face encounter between Trump and Zelensky since an Oval Office meeting in February that turned into a shouting match.

After that meeting, the United States cut off intelligence cooperation with Ukraine, which is critical to its efforts to stave off Russian attacks, though this was later restored.