National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
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Friday May 9, 2014
Community Mirror No stone shall be left unturned in our resolve to bring perpetrators of this attack and other criminal assault on our people in the past to justice KADUNA STATE GOVERNOR, MUKHTAR RAMALAN YERO
Court ousts Domkat Bali as traditional ruler JAMES ABRAHAM JOS
T
he people of Gazum in Langtang North Local Government Council of Plateau State have applauded the recent judgment by the Court of Appeal voiding the selection of General Domkat Bali (rtd) as Ponzhi Tarok, describing the judgment as an important step that
would lead to the peaceful resolution of the impasse surrounding the stool. In a statement signed by the President of Gazum Development Association Mr. Clement Chirman, the people said what happened with the selection of Domkat Bali in 2010 as Ponzhi Tarok was nothing but a desecration of the custom and tradition of the Tarok people.
The statement further states that a matter as important as chieftaincy must be handled with care as it involves the history and tradition of a people. “As it stands today, the lawful instrument for the selection of Ponzhi Tarok is the 1975 Gazzette and any attempt to expunge the Gazum people as heir to the throne will be unac-
ceptable. The Court of Appeal sitting in Jos ruled that Domkat Bali cannot summon, preside or partake in any meeting of the Langtang Joint Traditional Council, or undertake any action as the Ponzhi Tarok. The ruling was part of the judgment in a cross appeal entered by three district heads and mem-
Residents of Ijegun and Isheri-Oshun, crossing a bridge under construction at Oke-Afa, Isolo in Lagos yesterday.
bers of the electoral college which have since 2010 challenged the selection of General Bali as the Ponzhi Tarok. The district heads of Langtang, Gazu and Bwarat, Nicholas Musa, Joab Dadi and Selchak Sambo respectively, instituted a court action in 2010 against the Ponzhi Tarok, Secretary of the Langtang Joint Traditional Council, the Commissioner of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Attorney General of Plateau State and the Langtang Joint Traditional Council, claiming that the selection of Bali was not conducted in accordance with the traditions and customs of the Tarok people. The Plateau State High Court had on January 6, 2011 granted an order restraining the installation of the Ponzhi Tarok pending the determination of a motion on notice, but the Commissioner for Local Govern-
NAF demolishes houses in Benue
Woman battles lover, police for T child’s custody
HENRY IYORKASE MAKURDI
SEBASTINE EBHUOMHAN BENIN
A
39-year-old single mother, Miss Success Omote Makelemi, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan and Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, to rescue her from the detention of the Nigeria Navy and Police. Omote, who lives at No. 52, Aja Street, Oghara, Delta State, has been detained at the Oghara Divisional Police Headquarters since May 1, 2014, from where she was transferred to the Command Headquarters, Asaba on May 7th.
Before then, she had been detained for two days by the Navy in Oghara, after her estranged lover, Mr. Hope Abijor, a member of the Delta State Waste Management Board, wrote a petition to the navy, which, in turn, filed a complaint of misconduct against the woman. The bone of contention between the estranged lovers is the custody of their five-year-old child, Emmanuela Abijor, a primary one pupil of the Navy Primary School in Oghara. Recounting her ordeal, Omote said she became pregnant for her estranged lover, who had
promised to marry her, but later left for another woman. She stated that after delivery, all entreaties for dowry payment failed. Since then, she has been struggling to bring up the child with the assistance of her 70-year-old mother, Mrs. Dora Makelemi. Community Mirror gathered that the estranged lovers’ disagreement became pronounced, when Mr. Abijor sought to take full custody of the child, an arrangement that did not go down well with Omote, who insisted that she was not ready to allow the baby live under the care of a step-mother.
The situation degenerated when Omote tried to take the child away from the navy school without the permission of the father. According to Omote, “I took my child away from the school because I cannot allow her to be under the care of a stepmother while I am still alive and able to care of her. Besides, the father had gone to court claiming he doubts the paternity of my baby. He is seeking a DNA test to determine the paternity. So, why must he now take custody of the child”?
ment and Chieftaincy Affairs, Paul Wai, had with the advice of the Attorney General, Edward Pwajok gone ahead to install General Bali as the Ponzhi Tarok. However, the district heads had initiated another suit in 2012, where the state high court granted three out of the eight reliefs sought. Not satisfied, the defendants had instituted an appeal to challenge the judgment of the lower court, while the district heads had cross appealed on the basis that five out of the eight reliefs were not granted by the Plateau State High Court. In their judgment, justices Tijjani Abdullahi, Chioma Nwosu- Iheme and Ibrahim Shata Bdliya, ruled that the lower court had no reason not to have granted the other reliefs sought by the district heads pending the determination of the motion on notice before the court.
he Nigeria Airforce, NAF, has demolished more than 300 buildings and other structures in Makurdi, Benue State, over land ownership. One of the affected landlords, Gunji Ephraim said that the residents had initially taken the case to court but until recently when the Nigerian Air Force pleaded that they withdraw it to pave way for settlement. He lamented that as soon as they withdrew the case, the Nigeria Air Force commenced demolition without giving them any notice. In his reaction, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, CPRO, Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa, said the Airforce owns 4,835 hectares of land which was duly approved by the Feder-
al Government and lamented that over the years, it had observed with dismay, the encroachment on it by unscrupulous individuals. He noted that the two communities of Ugondo and Akpen, that initially instituted court actions against NAF and the state government, later resolved to withdraw the case. “The legal process gave rise to a court injunction restricting further developments on the land. The injunction may not be said to hold any longer given that the case had been withdrawn. It is sad to note that fresh developments have since begun to come up on the land.” Famuyiwa stated that the command has commenced the process of safeguarding its land thus culminating in pulling down new emerging structures.