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ECOWAS Court, Pan African Lawyers Union To Collaborate On Litigations And Enforcement of Judgments

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ECOWAS Court, Pan African Lawyers Union To Collaborate On Litigations And Enforcement of Judgments

By: Michael Mike

The ECOWAS Court of Justice and the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) have agreed on a collaboration on litigations and enforcement of the judgments.

This was disclosed at a two day seminar organised by PALU with support from the Rahul Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at the weekend in Abuja.

The programme officer of the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU), Praise-God Joseph, said there is a collaboration between ECOWAS Court and PALU on how litigants can access the court as they hope to create more awareness on the need for member states to enforce the judgements of the court.

She said: “First is for them to understand that these courts they are the ones who accepted their jurisdiction and established them knowing the importance of this court and also knowing that this court provides decisions which are binding so it is upon the states to implement them and also the last thing that we have seen as an initiative towards ensuring they implement the judgment is to provide advocacy about the decisions that we get from this regional court and also sensitising our member states to know these decisions and also to find initiatives towards implementing the decisions.”

She added that: “Through this publication and also the two days seminar is to ensure that litigants have been equipped with the knowledge of the regional court that means it’s jurisdiction and procedures of accessing the court, but also understand how they can advocate towards the implementation of the decisions rendered by the regional court and through this we are able to strategize and discuss on what initiatives in case they call us we can implement in our respective organisations and also we can collaborate as partners towards enforcement of decisions of regional courts. And on our collaboration with the ECOWAS Court of Justice we have been working together through different strategic litigations but also mostly through capacity buildings and conferences where we aim to build key stakeholders knowledge about the court but also collaborations on how we as litigants and strategic litigants can access the ECOWAS court mostly

She also spoke on PALU and it’s importance, stating that: @Pan African Lawyers union deals with different issues and most of our activities are around strategic litigation so through this strategic litigation we do capacity building to litigants but also we do publications so as to help litigants in accessing justice through regional court. So we organised a two-day seminar which aims for capacity building of participants, litigants, CSOs, NHRIS across the region with the focus of those litigates at the ECOWAS court of Justice.”

The programme officer of Rahul institute for human rights and humanitarian law, Gilford Kimathi, said Rahul sponsored the training because of its interest in building capacity of litigants to promote justice.

*We support access to Justice so we support the Pan African lawyers union in its work that supports both the sub-regional bodies that are working on human rights as well as building the capacity of lawyers especially those that are litigating these bodies.

“We hope to have the litigants have increased awareness and therefore strengthen their capacity to engage with the ECOWAS court.

“One of the challenges that we have is that there is limited awareness of these bodies by many of the advocates we use to have many other challenges like the low levels of implementation of decisions that emanate from those bodies amongst other challenges as you may know therefore our expectation is that through the seminar that was organized by PALU as well as the publication the menu that has been developed by PALU the litigants will be more capacitated to be able to litigate at the ECOWAS court.” he added

The Registrar Appeal, Arbitration and Enforcement, ECOWAS Court of Justice, Mr. Gaye Sowe, at the sidelines said, the court has gotten an approval to be at the next ECOWAS Council of Ministers meeting to present it with their challenges and possible solutions. “For the first time the court is going to meet with the council of Ministers which has never happened before. We will be at the meeting and make known to them the challenges we face aa a regional court and proffer possible solutions.”,

Earlier in his presentation he disclosed that the court has so far made over 390 judgments since inception and that 132 cases against member state are yet to be enforced while while 14 has so far been enforced and that the other over 200 judgements are not enforceable.

ECOWAS Court, Pan African Lawyers Union To Collaborate On Litigations And Enforcement of Judgments

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Ngala: Zulum assesses flood destruction, shares relief to victims

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Ngala: Zulum assesses flood destruction, shares relief to victims

By: Our Reporter

Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, was in Ngala Local Government Area on Sunday to assess the destruction caused by flooding in the region.

Gamboru Ngala is a market town on the shores of Lake Chad near the Cameroon-Nigeria border.

Zulum also shared relief items to victims that were cut off by the high volume of rainwater and flooding for nearly four months.

The governor travelled to Ngala on Saturday, spent the night there and sympathised with the affected community. He assured that his administration, in partnership with the federal government, will provide the needed solutions to avert future occurrences.

“Gamboru Ngala, headquarters of Ngala Local Government, was cut off from the rest of the country for about four months as a result of this years flood and heavy rainfall.”

“We came to examine the extent of damage and look into the possibility of supporting the victims. You can see a greater percentage of the town is submerged in water. However, I still want to appeal to the people to desist from building houses on waterways.”

“The situation is very obnoxious and both the federal and state governments will look into the possibility of supporting them. Most importantly, the town cannot be accessed, thereby cutting the community from food supply. So during our visit, we will also distribute food items donated to the state by the federal government.”

“We will also examine the situation and see how we can address the flooding issues here. We will take some immediate measures and ensure medium and longer-term solutions are implemented to prevent future occurrences.

The governor was accompanied by a member of the House of Representatives, Engr Bukar Talba, a member of the House of Assembly representing Ngala, Alh: Bukar Abatcha and the Commissioner for Local Government and Emirates Affairs, Sugun Mai Mele.

Others include Bukar Mustapha Dalatu, a Former member of the House of Assembly, and Dr Mohammed Barkindo, the Director General of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), among other senior government officials and political party members.

Ngala: Zulum assesses flood destruction, shares relief to victims

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Northern Christian Youth Professionals Commend Senate, Urges President Tinubu to Ensure Inclusive Representation in Appointment into NWDC Board

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Northern Christian Youth Professionals Commend Senate, Urges President Tinubu to Ensure Inclusive Representation in Appointment into NWDC Board

By: Michael Mike

The Northern Christian Youth Professionals has commended the Senate for stepping down the confirmation of the appointments of the Governing Board of the newly established North West Development Commission’s board of directors.

The association had been at the centre of agitation for non approval of the board, insisting that it was not broadly constituted as there was no Christian representation of it.

In a press statement on Sunday, the group said the Senate led by its President, Senator Godswill Akpabio and the Deputy President, Senator Barau Jibrin, with this decision, made on November 19th, has demonstrated its commitment to fair representation and equity in the region.

The statement signed by the group’s chairman, Isaac Abrak read: “We believe this move was made in good faith to enable President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to include Christians on the board, ensuring diverse representation. We urge the President to engage in thorough consultations with Christian leaders and stakeholders in the region to select credible individuals for the board.”

Abrak added that: “Appointing the right people is crucial, not only for Christians in the region but for the entire population. We have faith in President Tinubu’s leadership, knowing his penchant for consultation and selecting capable individuals.

“We assure the President of our continued support and encourage our people and all Nigerians to do the same, as his regime works towards improving living conditions across the country.”

Northern Christian Youth Professionals Commend Senate, Urges President Tinubu to Ensure Inclusive Representation in Appointment into NWDC Board

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Kadafur Lead govt officials to Menwara Festival 2024

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Kadafur Lead govt officials to Menwara Festival 2024

…… Highlights its tremendous significance to cultural heritage

By: Our Reporter

Borno State Governor Professor Babagana Umara Zulum ably represented by the Deputy Governor of Borno State HE (Dr) Umar Usman Kadafur led government officials to celebrate the “Menwara Annual Cultural Festival”, hosted by the Shani Emirate Council.

The Deputy Governor while reading out his remarks said the gathering serves not only as a celebration of our rich cultural heritage but also as a reminder of the values that bind us together as a people, unity, respect and mutual understanding. The Menwara has grown over the years into an event of tremendous significance, bringing together individuals from all folks of life to celebrate the diversity and vibrancy of our traditions.

Dr Kadafur further added that “to everyone present, I encourage you to immerse yourselves fully in the celebration today. Let us take pride in who we are and the remarkable culture that we share. Together, we will continue to grow, thrive, and ensure that the spirit of the Menwara Festivals lives on for generations to come.”

In an address, The emir of Shani Alhaji Muhammad Nasir Mai Lafiya, while tracing the centuries-long tradition opined that the cultural festival depicts characteristics and knowledge of people which includes their language, religion, social habits, music and arts.

“The aim of hosting this annual cultural event therefore, is to continue to instill our cultural heritage and awareness into our younger generation”, the emir remarked.

The emir also took time to formally commiserate with the government and people of Borno over the recent devastating flood in Maiduguri which resulted in significant loss of lives and widespread destruction of properties, praying Allah to grant the deceased and their families the fortitude to bear the irreparable lost .

In a welcome address, the Executive Chairman of Shani Hon Hassan Abdu Labaki, said Shani local government has witnessed significant progress engendered by the present of administration of Governor Zulum with tangible and laudable projects all over the council which includes Vocational Entrepreneurship Institute Shani, Government Day Secondary School Gasi, Government Day Secondary Bargu, health clinic Gasi, Langama secondary school Shani, Shani water gallery, supply and distribution, as well as Local Government computer ICT Center Shani, among other developmental initiatives.

“Your Excellency, on behalf of myself, my council and the entire people of Shani LG we are wishing you, your entourage and all our invited dignitaries a happy and memorable stay in Shani and safe journey back to your destination,” the chairman concluded.

In a vote of thanks, Hon. Musa Inuwa Kubo urged the people of Shani to redouble their efforts in irrigation farming and avoid indiscriminate sales of agricultural produce to avoid food insecurity, while thanking the state governor and his deputy for their unflinching support to the area.

In attendance were the Former Deputy Governor HE Hon Usman Mamman Durkwa, Traditional Rulers, Members House Assembly of Hawul, Shani , Biu, Bayo, Deputy Chief of Staff, Commissioner of Inter-Governmental affairs Hon Ibrahim Tukur Shani, Chairmen of some respective Local Government, Special advisers, Permanent Secretaries , Principal Secretary to the Deputy Governor, Mohammed Adamu Lawan, as well as Senior Special Assistant among others.

Kadafur Lead govt officials to Menwara Festival 2024

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