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News : Legal and Judicial Affairs

The trial for former Liberian president Charles Taylor took an early adjournment today when immediately after the mid-morning break, one of the judges reportedly fell ill. Prior to the court's adjournment, the accused former Liberian president denied allegations that he sent his rebel fighters to attack neighbouring Guinea, saying that he gave approval to "hot pursuit missions" which entered into the neighboring country. (AllAfrica)

The Senate and the House of Representatives will separately receive the Federal Government's 2010 budget of N4 trillion today, dousing the tension that had existed between the two houses over the venue for the budget presentation. (AllAfrica)

Twenty-one-year old widow, Santa Auma remembers the day four men, armed with spears and knives stormed her hut at about 3:35am on March 20, 2008, and robbed her. Then they took turns raping her and her 20-year-old niece. Auma decided to fight back. She and her niece went to the hospital and then to the Police. One of the attackers was arrested and is in jail awaiting trial. (AllAfrica)

The International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo will Thursday make an "announcement" on the situation regarding Kenya's post election violence. (AllAfrica)

PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma -- whose prerogative it is to appoint a new head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) -- is likely to proceed carefully when replacing Vusi Pikoli. (AllAfrica)

In what has been described as a landmark development regarding judicial cooperation between France and Rwanda, two senior judges from the Paris Court of Higher Instance have arrived in the country to investigate Genocide fugitives on French soil. (AllAfrica)

Exactly 20 years ago, on 20 November 1989, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) which sets universal standards for the care, treatment and protection of all individuals below the age of 18 years. (AllAfrica)

Barring any last minute change in plans, the gridlock over the presentation of the 2010 budget will be broken at 10a.m. today as President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua will present the vital document to the National Assembly by proxy. (AllAfrica)

The House of Representatives yesterday endorsed the imposition of sanctions on undemocratic governments in the West African sub-region, saying African leaders must summon the moral authority to caution leaders whose actions continue to undermine the continent's strives for an enduring democratic culture. (AllAfrica)

The Newspaper Proprietors' Association of Nigeria (NPAN), has condemned the strange Press Council Bill now circulating at the National Assembly which seeks to impose government control on the Nigerian press. (AllAfrica)

The transport manager Pascal Gwezere who is accused of stealing weapons from Pomona Army Barracks was granted US$500 bail on Friday but will remain in custody after the state invoked Section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act. (AllAfrica)

Portions of a law suit against the divestiture of Ghana Telecom (GT) have been referred to the Supreme Court for hearing. (AllAfrica)

Security expert Dr. Emmanuel Aning has called for parliamentary inquiry into allegations of maltreatment meted out to two Bawku residents accused of firing indiscriminately into the air. (AllAfrica)

For former chairman of the board of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Chief Bode George, it is certainly not the best of times, even in prison over monumental corruption at the NPA; the Senate yesterday added salt to injury when he was named among Nigerians who bought government houses allegedly without following the due process. (AllAfrica)

Over 85 former members of the House of Representatives who served between 2003 and 2007 have handed down a 30-day ultimatum to Speaker Dimeji Bankole to offset their N382.5 million unpaid salaries and allowances or be ready to meet them in court. (AllAfrica)

An Abuja Magistrate Court yesterday discharged Chief Kenny Martins and three others of a charge of conspiracy and forgery against them which emanated from the Corporate Affairs Commission sometime in October 2009. (AllAfrica)

Worried by the recent attacks on corps members in some states of the federation, President Umar Musa Yar'Adua has ordered the Inspector-General of Police, Ogbonna Onovo, to provide a twenty-four-hour police protection for corps members nationwide. (AllAfrica)

Former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, at the weekend commended the governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, for his courageous steps to ensure that the people of the state embraced his new tax policy, describing it as "distintively perculiar". (AllAfrica)

A former Commissioner of Police for the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Lawrence Alobi, has made case for the Nigeria Police to adopt a democratic method of policing. (AllAfrica)

Former President Rawlings has welcomed the arrest of five soldiers allegedly implicated in the murder of former Ghana Commercial Bank Deputy Managing Director, Roko Frimpong. (AllAfrica)

MR. ADJEI Manu, the accounts officer who misappropriated about GH¢87,000 belonging to the Ghana Post, Kumasi, has admitted to the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly Circuit Court, presided by His Honour Adjei Frimpong, that he stole the said amount, and used it to construct two houses for his mother at Adugyama. (AllAfrica)

That day in the year 2001, the legal community stood still at the sad passing of easily one of the most accomplished legal practitioners of this generation. Chief Chike Chigbue, SAN, OFR was a lawyer who commanded attention both in the court room and outside. (AllAfrica)

The debate whether to scrap the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria or not has been on since the Annual General Conference of the NBA in Lagos in August, 2009. (AllAfrica)

Two weeks ago, a Valedictory session was held for the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Mustapha Abdullahi; next week, the President of the Court of Appeal, Umaru Abdullahi will also retire; and next month, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Idris Legbo Kutigi retires from office. They all left worthy legacies. For the new helmsmen at the three federal courts, the challenge is to bring us up to speed says JOSEPH OTTEY who points out that our model for delivering judicial services is faulty, flawed and inefficient for the twenty first century (AllAfrica)

Edo State, the Nation's Heart Beat, is still in mourning the sad news of the demise of the Chief Judge of the State, Justice Michael Edokpayi late Monday night last week in Abuja. Edokpayi's death, for many, is not Edo's loss alone but that of the entire nation. This is because the late Edokpaye served the nation in many capacities and was indeed on a call for active national service when he passed on. (AllAfrica)

In a very rare coincidence, the heads of the three courts in the federal judicial hierarchy are retiring from the Bench within a short space of six weeks. JUDE IGBANOI examines the significance and symbolism of the retirements of Idris Legbo Kutigi, Chief Justice of Nigeria (retiring next month), Umaru Abdullahi, President, Court of Appeal (retiring next week) and Abdullahi Mustapha, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court (retired formally, November 12). (AllAfrica)

Senate Committee on Housing and Urban Development yesterday named former Chairman of the Board of Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Olabode George, as one of the notable Nigerians who bought Federal Government houses in Lagos without bidding for them. (AllAfrica)

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been faulted over the statement that it was unaware of the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Calabar that returned Emmanuel Obot, the former aide to ex-Governor Victor Attah, as the authentic candidate of the 28th April, 2007 House of Representatives election into Uyo constituency, describing its Chairman, Professor Maurice Iwu, as a liar. (AllAfrica)

If a motion by 11 senators sails through today on the floor of the Senate, the Upper House will launch a comprehensive probe into the revenue and expenditure of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) since 2007. (AllAfrica)

The successful presentation of this year's budget to the two chambers of the National Assembly today will not guarantee it's early passage, sources have told Vanguard. (AllAfrica)

Parliament has urged the government to allocate more money to agrarian reform, saying SA cannot afford to postpone this any longer and the lack of sufficient funding would compromise its development agenda. (AllAfrica)