The Inspector-General of Police charged Ohakim with three counts bordering on giving false information to the police.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge read to him.

Delivering a ruling, Justice Samira Bature of the FCT High Court held that granting bail, was at the discretion of the court.

“The defendant is hereby admitted to bail in the sum of N10 million  with one surety in like sum.

“The surety,  shall be a reputable person in the society with fixed address in the court’s jurisdiction,” she held.

“The former governor is, however, directed not to interfere with the prosecution or its witnesses, failure of which his bail will be revoked,” she held.

She adjourned the matter until January 25, 2021.

Earlier, his counsel,  K.C.O Njemanze, SAN, moved a motion on notice seeking the bail of the defendant brought pursuant to Sections 158 and 163 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015 and Section 35 (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

He said the offence the former governor was charged with was the type that can attract bail.

Njemanze assured the court that the defendant was ready to produce reasonable sureties if the court did not mind to grant his bail in self recognisance as a former governor of one of the states.

The prosecution counsel, Stanley Nwodo, however, opposed the bail application, saying that the former governor had dishonoured several police investigation

He said there were several warrants of arrest (against the defendant).

He however, submitted that though the charge against Ohakim was bailable, that bail was not absolute.

He added that it was the duty of the prosecution to guide the court in granting bail.

He told the court that the defendant had the capacity to interfere with the course of justice.

“The prosecution is concerned about the antecedent of the defendant,” he said.

He, therefore, urged the court to handle the bail application with caution.

Source: NAN

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The governor who spoke to newsmen shortly after the Supreme Court dismissed the petition of Chief Emeka Ihedioha who challenged the earlier judgement of the apex court, described the ruling as the expectation of the people.

“The judgement represents the expectation of the mandate of the people. We give God all the glory that at the end of the day, truth came out. We commend the wisdom of the Supreme Court in standing by the truth,” he said.

Governor Uzodimma reiterated his resolve to take the state to the next level and called on all Imo sons and daughters, both at home and abroad, to contribute their quota to the development of the state.

To his opponents, Governor Uzodinma said: “In this business, you must show the spirit of sportsmanship. It’s not every time you win, it’s not every time you lose. When you win, you carry the losers along; when you lose you follow those that won. My plea to my opponents is to come and bring their ideas, let us team up and create a synergy that will develop Imo State and bring succour to our people.”

On the expectations of Imo people in the next four years, Governor Uzodinma said: “You will expect miracle because I know I have a vision and that vision is a well cut out vision that will develop our state, bring prosperity, development and ensure good and long life for our people.”

Governor Uzodinma said he also had great plans for his party in the South East.

He said he believed time had come for the APC to make sustained impact in the region.

His words: “APC is in all the five states of the South East, but Imo is the only state with a Governor of APC extraction. I will improve on the status quo by doing things that will impress the people through persuasion, conviction and dialogue. I’ll go on a political evangelism to convert people of the South East to join the national party.”

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The Supreme Court, in its verdict last week, declared Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as the true winner of the 2019 governorship election in the state.

Ihedioha contested the election on the platform of the PDP.

Top chieftains of the PDP participated in the protest which started at the Legacy House of the party, to the Supreme Court.

They were joined by hundreds of other protesters against the sack.

Some of the messages in the placards by the protesters read: “We say no to Supreme Court judgement in Imo” and “Save Judiciary” among others.

Security agents were seen blocking the Supreme Court area.

On Sunday, protesters similarly stormed the streets of Owerri, Imo State capital, to protest the sacking of Ihedioha.

Youths and the elderly marched through the streets of Owerri carrying placards with diverse inscriptions and chanting solidarity songs.

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Uzodinma was sworn in by the Chief Judge of Imo State, Justice Pascal Nnadi.

He was sworn in at exactly 7.25 p.m. on Wednesday.

His deputy, Prof. Placid Njoku, also took his oath of office.

The swearing in was carried out following the declaration by the Supreme Court that he was the duly elected governor of Imo State in the March 9, 2019 governorship election.

Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,  was sacked by the court’s declaration.

The swearing-in ceremony took place at the Hero’s Square in Owerri.

Nnadi while performing the swearing in said: “In line with section 185 (2) and Section 187 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and with the powers vested on me by the constitution, I hereby swear in Sen. Hope Uzodinma as the sixth democratically elected governor of Imo State.”

Uzodinma, in his inaugural speech, described his victory as “rare” and a reminder that God was faithful and did not abandon those who trusted in him.

He thanked the apex court for restoring the people’s confidence in the judiciary and the National Chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshiomole as well as the party’s central working committee for their efforts in ensuring that justice prevailed.

“It is a historic judgement which has assured Nigerians and Imo in general that the judiciary remains the hope of the common man. This victory is for all Imo people, it is victory against impunity, victory for justice,” he said.

Uzodinma said he had forgiven all his political enemies and would carry everyone along adding that his government would revolve around reconstruction, rehabilitation and recovery to ensure good governance.

“I will respect the principle of separation of powers and allow the other arms of government to operate independently for a better Imo. God bless Imo State,” he said.

News Agency of Nigeria reports that the inauguration was attended by former governor, Rochas Okorocha of the state and Senator representing Imo West Senatorial District, and Sen. Ifeanyi Ararume.

Others are the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, and serving members of the Federal House of Representatives from Imo, Mr. Chike Okafor and Mr. Kingsley Uju.

Also in attendance were the Minister of State for Education, Mr Emeka Nwajiuba, and his counterpart in Solid Minerals, Dr. Uche Ogah.

Others were traditional rulers, members of the state House of Assembly led by the Speaker, Mr Chiji Collins, representatives of Civil Society Organisations, heads of security agencies, religious leaders and sundry.

Governor Uzodinma had earlier received a Certificate of Return from the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Abuja barely 24 hours after the apex court nullified the election of Mr Emeka Ihedioha as the governor of Imo.

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Speaking to newsmen shortly after the ceremony at INEC headquarters in Abuja, Uzodinma dedicated his victory to God and “functional judiciary” of the country.

“We thank God that at the end of the day through His Mercy, His will and the mandate of our people of Imo, who came out to vote for APC and myself, that at the end of the day their wishes and mandate have been recognised.

“We owe this victory to God Almighty. We owe it to functional judiciary. That our judiciary is working and the Supreme Court worked to expectation.

“The people of Imo have not been denied their choice of leadership and the efforts they made during election. It is something we must be grateful for,” Uzodinma said.

He described the litigation process he went through as part of democratic process, saying: “There must be challenge here and there, but you must develop thick skin and strength to follow through litigation.

“That is what we did and the first court did not do what we wanted. The second court followed through, but the Supreme Court use its eagle eye and gave us victory. We thank God.”

He said that the excitement of the people of Imo about the Supreme Court judgement was in response to the fact that the mandate they gave to him had been protected.

Uzodinma said that he recognised that the challenge before the APC and himself as the governor was to ensure that reasonable expectations of the people were not dashed.

“l owe them a great deal of work to ensure that those expectations, democratic dividends and things that they believe I will do as a governor, God’s willing, that I will do them to conclusive end,” he said.

The Supreme Court in a unanimous judgment on Tuesday sacked Emeka Ihedioha and declared Uzodinma winner, directing INEC to issue him Certificate of Return.

A seven-man panel of the apex court in its decision held that Ihedioha did not win majority of votes cast at the March 9, 2019 governorship election.

In the judgment delivered by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the court accordingly ordered INEC to withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to Ihedioha and issue fresh one to Uzodinma on grounds that he won majority of the lawful votes cast at the election.

The court held that the lower court erred in law when it rejected evidence tendered before it to the extent that votes from 388 polling units were not credited to APC and Hope Uzodinma.

The court also ordered the immediate swearing in of Uzodinma as lawful winner of the March 9, 2019 governorship election in Imo.

Source: NAN

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The Executive Secretary of Imo State Universal Basic Education Board, IMSUBEB, Mr Kingsley Nzemaechi, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Lagos on Friday.

Nzemaechi said that the state had lost its pride in education because of poor quality of teaching staff and lack of motivation in the school system.

According to him, the recruitment was the first step being taken by the Emeka Ihedioha’s administration to upgrade the quality of education in the state.

“Submission of applications begins today with the launching of the website to enable applicants to easily apply from anywhere and to avoid undue human contact in order to make the process seamless.

“We are employing teachers from various cadres to leverage on their wealth of experiences to boost quality and return the state to its former enviable position in education.

“We want to see our students top the table in qualifying examinations like JAMB, SSCE and the rest, which had been the tradition in the state years back,” he said.

He said the board did not charge money for the recruitment and government would not take it lightly with anybody caught exploiting applicants in the course of the exercise.

The executive secretary, who gave the application site as www.imsubeb.imostate.gov.ng, said that the site was accessible.

Nzemaechi said that some non-teaching staff would also be employed in order to complement the duties of the teachers.

NAN reports that some parents had complained about lack of science and mathematics teachers in public schools in the state.

They said that the situation had forced them to take their children to private schools for qualitative learning.

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News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the police inspector was alleged to have shot Ukachi dead at a popular restaurant in the area on Monday over a minor argument and fled the area.

Ladodo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Owerri that the command had commenced a manhunt for the killer cop.

He, therefore, advised the officer to willingly surrender himself to the command because he would eventually be apprehended.

In a spontaneous reaction to the cold-blooded murder, the youths of the community reportedly invaded the Obowo Divisional Police Station, setting it ablaze.

The irate youths in Imo also allegedly carted away firearms and other items from the station.

The police commissioner said that normalcy had since returned in the area and gave the assurance that justice would be done in the incident.

He said that he had directed the homicide department of the command to take over the matter and ensure that the suspect was arrested and made to face the full wrath of the law.

Ladodo also said that the command had started the process of recovering all the firearms allegedly taken away by the angry youth.

He commended the community leaders in the area for their cooperation.

Meanwhile, Imo State governor, Emeka Ihedioha has directed the police boss to ensure that the suspect was arrested and brought to book.

Ihedioha, who gave the directive when he visited the family of late Ukachi, said that the police officer acted unprofessionally.

He said that his preliminary investigation showed that Ukachi was not a criminal, reasoning that he would ensure that justice was done in the matter.

The governor also described those who took away firearms during the attack on the police station as criminals who should be arrested and prosecuted for illegal act.

He also directed the Divisional Police Officer of the division to ensure that detainees, who reportedly escaped during the incident, were rearrested.

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Ihedioha was declared winner by the Returning Officer for the election, Professor Francis Ogbonnaya Otunta Monday night.

He polled 273,404 votes to defeat his closest rival, Uche Nwosu of the Action Alliance (AA), who polled 190, 364 votes.

Ihedioha was Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and Nwosu is the son-in-law of Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State.

Senator Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress (APC) polled 96,458 votes to come third in the race.

Reacting to the victory, Ihedioha tweeted:  “Thank you Ndi Imo. It’s a victory for all of us! I will not fail! My word is my bond.”

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