“We don’t  expect those who ran election on forged credentials and even fake Bishops to stop faking.”

The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has decried the lies, propaganda, distortion of stories embarked upon by the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to discredit him.

In a statement signed by Diran Onifade, Head, Obi-Datti Media, urged the APC to stop what he described as its “Endless Subterfuge.”

His reaction stemmed from a conversation he had with Bishop Oyedepo of the Winners Chapel, which was completely doctored in order to give it a sinister meaning, and now circulating on the Social Media.

The statement dismissed it as fake and asked Nigerians to focus on the task to take back “the mandate we know was freely given to Peter Obi and Datti Baba-Ahmed through legitimate means.

It reads:

“It appears the All Progressives Congress’ desperation to grab and retain power by foul means has refused to go away more than a month after they have grabbed the election as they planned.

While we are toeing the constitutional path to retrieve our mandate, those who have truncated the wishes of the majority of Nigerians have recoursed to mischief and endless subterfuge to continue to hold on to what they know does not belong to them.

From the show of shame in Portharcourt to the drama in the Ibom Air aircraft, both of which they contrived, they have now moved to the circulation of a deep fake audio file aimed at promoting religious tension in the country.

“All these are meant to serve no other purpose than egregious  mischief aimed at demarketing Peter Obi.  If the goal is to create a credibility problem, the ploy has failed woefully. Peter Obi has long been on record as the only presidential candidate who has urged the Nigerians electorate not to vote for him on the basis of religion or tribe .

“We will therefore

like to advice our beloved Nigerian people to remain focused on the task to take back  the mandate we know was freely given to Peter Obi and Datti Baba-Ahmed through legitimate means.

That is more important than to expect  those who ran election on forged credentials and even fake Bishops to stop faking. They cannot stop being fraudulent because that is who they are.”

By Charles Igbo

The Arrest, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, of a team of Lawyers, hired by the All Progressives Congress, APC, to file its suit challenging the process and outcome of the Governorship Election held on 18th March, 2023, has sent shock waves across the State and beyond.

The Lawyers from the Chambers of Tuduru Ede, SAN, were arrested by the Police at the Bayview Hotel, Tombia Road, GRA Phase 2, Port Harcourt, Friday night. Also arrested were two support staff of the APC.

They lodged there, and were preparing their briefs when the Police swooped on them, arrested, detained them, and confiscated all their work documents, including papers ready for filing in Court.

While Tonye Cole, the Governorship Candidate of the APC expressed shock and vowed not to leave the Police Station where they were detained until they are released, their Principal, Tuduru Ede, SAN, said he had never seen such a situation before. He expressed disbelief and accused the Hotel Staff of compromising their stay in the hotel to, perhaps, the State Government.

“This is a rude awakening”, Cole said, when he spoke to Reporters Saturday morning.

He said: “I was woken up this morning with a frantic call, about 7.00am, that our Lawyers and support staff have been arrested and taken away from the hotel where they were lodged.

“By the time I rushed down to the hotel, they were already gone.

“I was told they were taken to the intelligence and Surveillance Unit in Ogbunabali.

“I, and the Party Agent and our lead Counsel went there, and we were kept for over an hour. We didn’t see them, only to be told that they’ve been transferred to State Criminal Investigation Department.

“I have never heard of Lawyers preparing a petition that is time-bound, being arrested. More worrying is that all our evidence was taken away.

“Now, can we trust that evidence when we get it back. The Lawyers were writing their brief before they were taken away. Now, the opposition knows exactly what we want to argue. I am in shock.

“The arrest won’t stand. I am not leaving this place today until they are released.

“These are Lawyers legitimately preparing their petitions. We cannot go to the Tribunal and tell them we didn’t meet the date because our Lawyers were arrested.

“The Police cannot continue being used. I feel the Police are being used to scuttle us. We already have evidence of the Police being used in the hijack of electoral materials on election day. The Inspector General of Police must call them to order.

APC’s lead Counsel,  Ede, SAN, whose three Lawyers were arrested described what happened as “unheard of. How can Police allow themselves to be used this way”, he asked.

He said the Police action was “A way of scuttling the petitions. They took away all the EC8 papers and copies of election results we have collated from the agents.

“We are asking that all the arrested persons be released. We believe our stay there was compromised by the staff of the hotel.”

At the time of filing Cole’s and Ede’s reaction, neither the Police nor the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, has issued any statement.

By Charles Igbo

The absurd has, again, happened in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

A team of Lawyers, hired by the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, Rivers State, to file petitions at the Election Petition Tribunal allege they have been whisked away by the Police, and detained.

Reports say the Lawyers were taken away by Policemen attached to Hypercity Supermarket Police Station, Ogbunabali, Port Harcourt.

The Lawyers were arrested at Bayview Hotel, Tombia Road, GRA Phase 2, Porthacourt. All of them are from the Chambers of  Tuduru Ede, SAN, & Co.

They were working in order to beat the deadline in filing election petitions on the  Governorship and State Assembly Elections in the  State.

In a Save Our Soul message the Lawyers alleged that they were swooped upon by the Police operatives while they “were preparing to file election petitions on behalf of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and some of its candidates to challenge the outcome of the 18th March Governorship and State Assembly elections.”

Their distress was made public through a post by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, who  confirmed the ugly development.

The post titled:“DISTRESS ALERT: NIGERIA POLICE ARRESTS LAWYERS PREPARING ELECTION PETITIONS FOR ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS CANDIDATES IN PORT HARCOURT reads:

“Early this morning the 1/4/2023 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force unlawfully and illegally arrested lawyers and support staff of Tuduru Ede SAN &Co,  who were preparing Election Petitions for APC candidates who INEC claimed lost the elections of 18th March 2023 to the Rivers State House of Assembly.

“The arrests were made at Bayview Hotel along Tombia Road,GRA Phase 2, Port Harcourt.

“The lawyers owing to tight timelines to file petitions quartered in the hotel to meet filing periods of 21 days.

“They only had FORMs EC8As and related FORMs issued by INEC and committed no offences for accepting and working their briefs.

“Their clients who are APC and APC candidates have right of access to the Tribunal which the Police in collaboration with PDP are aggressively trying to obstruct by arresting and humiliating lawyers.

“The arrested lawyers include Aondo Jerry, Dr Nelson U.Sobere and Odum C. Eyiba.

“They are currently held at Hypercity Supermarket Police Station at Ogbunabali, Port Harcourt without access to them even upon several efforts of their principal Tuduru Ede SAN and other APC chieftains.”

It will be recalled that the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, had issued an Executive Order, which banned Political Parties from using Hotels and other recreational centres as meeting points labelling any such meeting as an avenue to recruit cultists. But these are Lawyers lodged in the Hotel to do their work.

At the time of filing this report, it could not be confirmed if the Lawyers have been released or not, just as there had been no statements from the Police or the Nigeria Bar Association, Rivers State or the National body.

For the records, in the just concluded elections, Wike, a PDP Governor, freely and publicly worked for two Political Parties – APC and PDP.

In the Presidential election held on the 25th February, 2023, he worked for the Candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu, now the President-elect, against his own Party. But, he was, also, clever enogh to deliver PDP National Assembly Candidates. How he was able to pull off that feat is a story on its own.

And, in the Governorship election held on the 18th March, he worked for the PDP to deliver his chosen Candidate, Sim Fubara of the PDP, and all PDP Candidates of the State House of Assembly.

It is the conduct and outcome of the 18th March Elections that the APC and their candidates in Rivers State are challenging. Sadly for them, they are not likely to get any help from their National Headquarters because Wike helped them to deliver their Presidential Candidate, Tinubu.

By Adesina Soyooye

The very fiery Lauretta Onochie, Chairman of the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has fallen out of favour with the Executive Members of his Party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, in her Ward.

Her Ward accused her of anti-party activities, and has, therefore, suspended her.

The main accusation against her, among others, which earned her the suspension, is that she worked for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, against her own Party during  the General elections in her home State, Delta.

The APC lost in Delta in both the Presidential and Governorship elections in the State.

Onochie, said to be quite close to President Muhammadu Buhari and is his die-hard loyalist, was accused of working for PDP’s Atiku Abubakar and Delta State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, who is Atiku’s running mate, during the Presidential Election, and for Okowa’s candidate during the Governorship election.

While not a few people doubt the allegations against her, the APC executives in her Onicha-Olona Ward 4 of Delta State, think otherwise.

In the suspension letter which was  addressed to the  Delta State Chairman of the APC,  Onochie’s Ward Executives insisted they  investigated her and found out that she worked in the interest of the PDP during the General Elections against the APC.

Her suspension letter was signed by 27 members of her Ward Executive members in Aniocha North Local Government Area, including the Chairman, Ogbolu Peter Nduka, Vice Chairman, Osemeke Mokwunye and Secretary, Justina Amagor Akaeze.

The letter dated March 20, which stated that Onochie’s suspension is with immediate effect reads in part:

“We have painstakingly reviewed the conduct of the just concluded general elections at all levels and have noted, with dismay, that Lauretta Onochie, who is one of the leaders of our great party, worked against the success of the party in Onicha-Olona Ward 4, and beyond.

“Information available to us show very clearly that she was openly campigning for the Candidates of opposition Parties, especially the Peoples Democratic Party, in the run-up to the Presidential and National Assembly, as well as the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly Election. It was also observed that all her allies and supporters were working for the PDP in the state.

“The evidence of this could be seen in the fact that the party lost in her polling unit (Unit 8, Ward 4) in the Presidential, Senatorial, House of Representatives, Governorship and State Assembly Elections.

“We also note that she has failed to fulfill her financial obligations to the party and has never attended any Ward and LGA meetings or other party engagements.

“In the light of the grievous infractions discovered in her as stated in Article 21,2 (I) (II), we have lost confidence in her membership of the party and hereby suspend her from the party with immediate effect.”

Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, lost in the Governorship election to Sheriff Oborevwori, incumbent Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, while Peter Obi of the Labour Party beat Bola Tinubu of the APC, now the President-elect, in the Presidential election of 25th February, 2023.

But many people have doubts that Onochie was engaged in anti-party activities. Said a source: “She is too much of a Buharist to do that. What has she to gain by supporting the PDP against the APC when she already occupies a plum office given to her by a PDP Federal Government?”

Before her appointment to the Chair of the NDDC, Onochie was Buhari’s Special Adviser on New Media. While in that position, Buhari nominated her as a National Commissioner to the Board of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

The Senate did not approve of her because of her roles in both the APC and the Presidency. Buhari compensated her by offering her the NDDC job.

For the records, Onochie is still in Court with Atiku who sued her for alleged libel and defamation of character.

Said another source: “She must have fallen out of favour with her Ward Executives, perhaps, for not funding the Ward and taking care of members the way they expected, given her plum job which everybody sees as Politicians’ ATM.”

Onochie was yet to react to her suspension at the time of filing this report.