Kaduna State Government update on El-Zakzaky Trial

The Kaduna High Court today heard arguments pertaining to the application for medical leave filed by Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky.

As the prosecuting authority in the matter of The State versus El-Zakzaky (KDH/KAD/60c/2018), the Kaduna State Government opposed the application for medical leave.

The court has now reserved ruling on the motion for medical leave till Monday, 5th August 2019.

It is pertinent to remind all parties to respect the ongoing legal process. Counsel representing the defendants in the case have been appearing before the Kaduna High Court. In August 2018, defendants’ counsel moved an application for bail, which the Kaduna High Court refused. The court confirmed that the defendants should remain in custody.

For the record, there is no court order against the Kaduna State Government in the El-Zakzaky matter. Sheikh El-Zakzaky is facing charges that include culpable homicide, criminal conspiracy and inciting disturbance.

Counsels to the defendants have persisted in making public claims for the release of their clients, but no such an order has not been made in this matter by the Kaduna High Court.

Adherence to the rule of law obliges everyone to respect court processes and let the law follow its course.


Signed

Aisha Dikko
Attorney-General/Commissioner of Justice
29th July 2019

Nigerian court convicts Iranian of illegal arms shipment

A Nigerian court on Monday convicted an alleged member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and his Nigerian accomplice over an illegal arms shipment, sentencing them to a five-year jail term.

“I now pronounce them guilty as charged,” said Federal High Court Judge Okechukwu Okeke, noting that the two had been convicted on four of five criminal counts relating to the 2010 arms shipment.

Huge earthquake near Iran nuclear plant kills 37 and leaves families homeless

The death toll has risen to at least 37 people and hundreds more injured in a 6.1 magnitude earthquake near a nuclear plant in southern Iran on Tuesday, Iranian officials said. 

The earthquake struck the town of Kaki some 96 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Bushehr, a town on the Persian Gulf that is home of Iran's first nuclear power plant, built with Russian help.Authorities said it did not damage a nuclear plant in the region. 

'No damage was done to Bushehr power plant,' Bushehr provincial governor Fereidoun Hasanvand told state TV. He said 37 people died and 850 were injured, including 100 who were hospitalised. 

The quake was felt across the Gulf in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, where workers were evacuated from high-rise buildings as a precaution.Earlier on Sunday a lighter earthquake jolted the nearby area. Iran is located on seismic faults and it experiences frequent earthquakes.

In 2003, some 26,000 people were killed by a 6.6 magnitude quake that flattened the historic southeastern city of Bam. 

Iran rejects Nigeria spying allegation

The Islamic Republic of Iran has denied allegations that it had trained militants arrested in Nigeria on charges of planning attacks on U.S. and Israeli targets in Nigeria.

Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said such allegations were “made up as the result of the ill will of enemies of the two countries’ good relations”, Iranian state television reported on Friday.

“Iran and Nigeria have friendly and close relations and despite the vast efforts of the two countries enemies, in recent years relations and cooperation have always improved” he said.

The State Secret Service (SSS) on Thursday confirmed the arrest of Abdullahi Mustapha Berende and two other Nigerians in December after Berende, allegedly made several suspicious trips to Iran, where he interacted with Iranians in a “high-profile terrorist network”.

According to the SSS, Berende and his Iranian handlers were involved in “grievous crimes” against Nigeria’s national security.

Berende, who will now be charged in court, admitted to reporters at the SSS headquarters that he had carried out surveillance for the Iranians.

In 2004, Israeli sources said an Iranian diplomat was arrested on suspicion of spying on the Israeli Embassy in the Federal Capital Territory. Tehran denied any arrest.

In 2010, authorities at a Lagos Port found a hidden shipment of rockets, rifle rounds and other weapons from Iran, supposedly bound for Gambia.

A Nigerian and an Iranian face criminal charges over the shipment.