Nigerian man, Chijoke Stephen Obioha, who came to Singapore for afootball trial, is set to be hung early tomorrow morning after the Court of Appeal dismissed an Urgent Criminal Motion filed by his lawyer, Mr Joseph Chen, today, November 17th.

Chijioke has been taken to the prison and it’s believed no one from his family is there to visit him or arrange his funeral.

Chijoke was first arrested in 2007 and sentenced to the Mandatory Death Penalty in 2008 after being found guilty of trafficking more than 2kg of Cannabis.

His execution tomorrow will bring and end to possibly the longest delay between sentencing and execution. Chijoke has spent almost 8 years on death row and more than 9 years behind bars.

The Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign member, Mr Ravi, who is assisting Mr Joseph with the research for the case, shared that Singapore’s Apex Court had dismissed the motion in a Facebook post. The post was published 7 hours ago, after the Court begun to hear the case.

“The court of appeal has dismissed Chijioke’s constitutional challenge on the ground that Article 9(1) of Singapore’s constitution does not prohibit cruel and inhuman punishment and degrading treatment as previously held in the case of Yong Vui Kong in 2010,” Mr Ravi wrote.

“The court was not prepared to review its previous decision despite changes to the mandatory death penalty regime in 2012 and failed to consider the evolving standards of customary international law that prohibit cruel and inhumane and degrading treatment. We have to live with another judgement that says that the Singapore constitution allows cruel and inhumane punishment and degrading treatment. What was most disturbing was despite the court having put on notice that Chijioke’s counsel was only instructed yesterday, the court repeatedly kept asking why this application was made at the 11th hour. Chijioke is now being led to the prison to be executed in less then 11 hours. I understand that no one from his family is here to visit him or arrange his funeral. Another case of the death penalty being disproportionately imposed on the poor and the disadvantaged.” Mr Ravi added.

His imminent execution drew condemnation from International Organizations and local civil society groups. As this article went to press, the United Nations, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) Amnesty International, the European Union, and the Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign.

Chijoke had consistently maintained his innocence – to the point that he initially turned down a chance for re-sentencing for fear that it may be perceived as an admission of guilt. Some have also raised the issue of Chijoke being executed for Marijuana – a substance that is being legalised, for both medicinal and recreational purposes, in many cities and countries around the world.

“Chijioke has endured more than 9 punishing years in prison. He has been detained not for the purposes of treatment nor rehabilitation but for the purposes of awaiting execution,” Mr Ravi wrote in a earlier Facebook post. “He has faced unprecedented mental anguish. Changes to the law in 2012 gave him a glimmer of hope but this was again snatched away from him. To our knowledge, Chijioke’s case is possibly the longest delay of an execution in Singapore’s history till today.”

Source: Mr Ravi MRavi/Facebook/Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign/The Online Citizen.

Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar was being taught how to dab at the inauguration of the American University of Nigeria Law School Today.

See The Video below:

https://web.facebook.com/yabaleftonline/videos/1160464370739627/

A notorious thief who is very popular for stealing people’s motor batteries at night was caught at a market junction in Rumumasi, Port Harcourt, Rivers state.

He was caught while trying to break into a man’s car before he was caught by security guards popularly called Abokis in the area. The robber’s gang members escaped leaving him behind.

The security guards beat him to a pulp before tying him to a pole. He confessed to the crime. He has been taken to a police station for prosecution.

Well known for his tough lectures, popular Islamic scholar and preacher, Sheik Muyideen Bello is at it again.

Bello has said a Muslim man will be doing himself more harm by marrying just one wife, but instead he will advise such a man to start with two. He made this known in one of his lectures titled Legal Marriage.

He said: “Allah said a man should marry any kind of woman he likes. As a man, if you want to marry a fair-complexioned or dark woman, marry her. Allah said we should start from two women. I know women will not like to hear this. If you have to marry, start with two women, which is what the Quran says. The Yorubas have a saying that a man with one woman isn’t a real man. For instance if you are married to one wife and she over-salts your food, you have just one wife. You don’t have a choice than to eat the food or buy food outside.

“I have received so many messages from people that why should I encourage polygamy. I tell them, is it me encouraging polygamy? Allah said you should marry two, three, four. Allah said if as a man you know you can’t take care of them, then marry one. Then if you are a me and my wife kind of man, the implications are too many. As Muslims, four women is the maximum a man can have, have two living with you then if you have two houses outside, you put the other two there. The implications in marrying just one wife are too many.”

The Oyo State Police Command has arrested three internet fraudsters, who until their arrest, were into cyber crime, popularly known as “yahoo plus”.

This was made known by the Police Public Relations (PPRO), SP Adekunle Ajisebutu, in a statement made available to journalists in Ibadan.

According to Ajisebutu, “their arrest was made possible following a tip-off by members of the public.

“The suspects, Lanre (26), Sukanmi (28) and Opeyemi (26) were picked up from their hideout at Soka area, Ibadan, at about 6.30 a.m. on Wednesday, November 16 by the command’s Anti-Kidnapping Squad.

“The suspects who had been elusive for some time now, were eventually arrested after several days of intelligence gathering and painstaking investigation carried out by the police.

“During interrogation, the suspects confessed to being internet fraudsters and had defrauded many innocent victims they referred to as ‘clients’ of their hard-earned money in Naira and foreign currencies. They also disclosed that they often use charms to facilitate their illicit business.

“This they did by hypnotising victims and ‘commanding’ them to part with their Dollars and valuable properties. They further disclosed that those who had fallen victims included foreign nationals and Nigerians.”

Ajisebutu revealed that exhibits recovered from them included four assorted laptops and charms.

The police image maker said the state Commissioner of Police, Samuel Adegbuyi, has directed that a discreet investigation be carried out about their other nefarious activities at the end of which they would be arraigned.

He, however, advised youths to shun crimes and engage in legitimate businesses, even as he vowed to prosecute unrepentant criminals in the state.

– Nigerian Tribune