By Abasi Femi Oguntayo Ekiti State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Olawale Fapohunda has  expressed concern at the increasing rate at which victims of crime, their relations and interested persons apply for the discontinuance of criminal prosecution. Fapohunda who expressed this concern today as he signed a Directive on Applications for Discontinuance of Prosecution said  that more often than not the subject matter of such applications were  serious crimes including murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, cultism, rape and defilement. He stressed further that the applications were in respect of  offences which, the exercise of his discretionary power to discontinue prosecution must necessarily be exercised cautiously, judiciously and in the interest of the public. The Attorney General announced that henceforth, the discontinuance of criminal prosecution shall not be automatic as all applications shall be subjected to merit review and determined on a case by

By Abasi Femi Oguntayo A 12-man Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) team has met with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on how to resolve the row over Justice Onnoghen’s suspension. The session at the Presidential Villa was to seek a “soft landing” for the CJN, who is expected to resign in what a source described as a “win-win” situation. There is a six-point terms of resolution to be delivered to Justice Onnoghen through his confidants, relatives and friends, who will be expected to persuade him to quit. According to sources close to the talks, the NBA team, led by its National President Paul Usoro (SAN) and two former Presidents met with Osinbajo on Sunday night till the wee hours of Monday in a frank session. Also at the meeting were senior lawyers, including ex-NBA President A, B. Mahmood (SAN), Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) and others. A source in NBA, who spoke in confidence, said: “I am aware that 12 of our leaders met with the Vice President, who is a senior member of

The Ondo State Police Command, on Wednesday, arrested a man, Adojoh Ojonugwa, for allegedly stealing his brother wife’s pants in Akure. The suspect was arrested along with a pastor, Olajide Ogunleye, who was also alleged to be involved in the crime. Five ladies’ pants were found inside Ojonugwa’s bag, two of which reportedly belonged to his brother’s wife, while his sister owned the others. The 35-year-old Kogi State indigene was alleged to be planning to use the pants for money-making rituals. It was gathered that when the brother’s wife discovered that her pants had been stolen by the suspect, she reported the matter at the police station, after which Ojonugwa was arrested. Parading the suspect at the command’s headquarters in Akure, the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Femi Joseph, said Ojonugwa, in connivance with Ogunleye, stole the pants in a bid to use them for money rituals. He said both suspects had confessed to the crime and would soon be

By Abasi Femi Oguntayo  Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, has advocated that states be allowed to control resources in their domains to achieve more development. Egbeyemi said the constituent states in the Nigerian federation will develop if the practice of true federalism is allowed in the polity. The deputy governor who spoke in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, at the Pan-Yoruba Summit organized by Afenifere, also urged all the six states in the Southwest to vote massively for President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure his re-election in the February 16 presidential election. According to a statement on Wednesday by his Special Assistant (Media), Odunayo Ogunmola, Egbeyemi recalled that regions in the First Republic did not depend on the central government because they controlled their agricultural and mineral resources. The deputy governor regretted that overdependence on oil has made states to become lazy on other areas the

By  Abasi Femi Oguntayo  Ekiti State Attorney General and commissioner for Justice, Olawale Fapohunda has said that further Pursuance of the gubernatorial election case  will Result in Futility. Fapohunda made this assertion today, Monday, January 28th, 2019 while reacting to the judgment made by the presiding judge at the Ekiti Election Tribunal in Abuja.  It would be recalled that the candidate of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), Kolapo Olusola Eleka had filed a petition against the All Progressives Congress' Kayode Fayemi, alleging series of election irregularities and malpractices. An Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja unanimously struck out Kolapo's case and ruled that Fayemi was the duly elected Governor of the state. The commissioner in an interview with Fountain Newsbreaker today said, "The judgement was well reasoned and should not leave anyone in doubt about the futility of pursuing the matter f

Election Tribunal sitting in Abuja has unanimously struck out the case of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ekiti state, Olusola Kolapo and upheld Kayode Fayemi of the APC as a duly elected governor of the state, The Punch reports.  Judgements coming in to us showed that various cases against the governor Kayode Fayemi were struck out. Detail of the tribunal's ruling is still scanty as at the time of filing this report. It may, however be recalled that Rufus Adunmo, the deputy director general of the campaign organisation of Governor Fayem, on Monday, November 26, 2018, told the tribunal that the July 14, 2018 governorship poll was the best the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ever conducted.    As the 60th defence witness in the case, Adunmo insisted that the election was free, fair and credible by all standards, despite claims of bias, violence, vote-buying and other forms of malpractices that occasioned the electio

By Abasi Femi Oguntayo Ekiti State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Olawale Fapohunda has expressed concern over the increasing incidents of women battering, rape and child defilement in the state. Fapohunda who made this observation during a meeting with top law officers in the Ministry said, the Ministry of Justice must review its prosecution strategy in dealing with this scourge. He said the Zero  Tolerance  Policy of the Fayemi administration  for all forms of violence against women and children must be implemented to the letter. Fapohunda said sex  offenders should know that the Ministry of Justice will seek the maximum punishment provided under the Law. He said in addition to vigorously prosecuting sex offenders, the Ministry should take additional measures that includes naming and shaming persons convicted of such abuses. He said there is a need to begin to publisize names of persons in the Ministry's Sex Offenders Register. Fapohunda sai

The Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State has suspended its members in the House of Assembly who were suspected to be loyal to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and State Governor, Kayode Fayemi. According to the statement released in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital by the party's  Publicity Secretary,  Jackson Adebayo.  The following people were suspended for their anti-party activities; They are: Posi Omodara, Segun Adewumi, Fajana Ojo-Ade, Badejo Anifowose, Olayode Omotoso, Cecelia Dada and Olanrewaju Olayanju.

By  Abasi Femi Oguntayo Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Bisi Egbeyemi has commissioned the Ministry of Justice Academy.  He did the commissioning today, Friday 25th of January, 2019 at the Ministry of Justice Complex in the State's Secretariat, where he was accompanied by the Attorney General of the State, Olawale Fapohunda, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Lawrence Ojo and other top dignitaries in the State Justice ministry.  The Deputy Governor, who was also a former Attorney General, expressed his excitement in what he saw at the ministry of justice complex as the place had really developed in a very great way, compared to when he was there.   “Then, there was no money, but we thank God. There is still no money but it is better than before and we happy that we have Fapohunda here, who is a thoroughly bred lawyer, and he is exposed. It is good for us as lawyers, to be exposed. Another form of exposure for us is having a library,

Bellow are some important images taken at the celebration of Ekiti State Governor, Dr John Kayode Fayemi's 100 Days in office. On January 24th, 2019, there were several events lined up to mark the day. Abasi Femi Oguntayo of Fountain Newsbreaker was at some of the events to give you some of the images of what happened at the events. If you think your picture was taken or you need need any of the pictures below, please do contact Abasi Femi by calling or sending a message on WhatsApp to +2347031929427. PICTURES TAKEN AT SIGNING OF THE 2019 BUDGET BY THE GOVERNORS AT THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE Governor Fayemi Signing the Budget