Supreme Court Verdict: God Used Fayose For My Victory – Governor Ishaku

PDP Govs brand Fayose potential future leader

Olakiitan Victor in Ado Ekiti

Taraba State Governor, Arch.  Darius Ishaku,  said on Friday that Governor

Ayodele Fayose was instrumental  to the judicial victory he recorded
at the supreme court after losing in a dramatic manner at the
appellate court.

In the same vein, his counterparts from Akwa Ibom and Abia States ,

Hon Emanuel Udom and Dr Okezie Ikpeazu respectively, disclosed  that
Fayose has been a pillar of support to their  administrations,
disclosing that the governor played  similar role for them during
their  travails at the Election Petition Tribunal.

The governors said this in Ado Ekiti while attending the commissioning
of some projects executed by the administration of  Governor  Fayose.

Aside from the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Ali
Modu Sheriff, governors who graced the ceremony include, Governors
Ishaku of Taraba , Dr Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo, David  Umahi of
Ebonyin, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, Nyesom Wike of Rivers ,Ibrahim
Dankwabo of Gombe

Ishaku, while speaking at a thanksgiving ceremony organised in honour
of his judicial victory in Ado Ekiti, said  Fayose’s spiritual
counseling  made him  escape the hammer at the apex court.

Prosecution Files Additional Charges against Saraki

Prosecution counsel in the case brought by the Code of Conduct Bureau against Senate President Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Rotimi Jacobs, has filed amendments to the earlier charges against Saraki.

With the amendments, the charges have now risen to 16, from the original 13.

In the fresh charges, the Federal Government is accusing the Senate President of not declaring his interest in a foreign credit card account to which he was alleged to have transferred huge sums of money.

But Saraki pleaded not guilty to the 16 amended charges filed by the prosecution.

The tribunal adjourned till May 10 for continuation of trial just as the senate president has appealed against the earlier ruling of the tribunal.

US House approves e-mail privacy bill

The US House of Representatives voted unanimously [bill history] Wednesday to pass theEmail Privacy Act" [HR 699, PDF]. The purpose of the bill is to protect the e-mail correspondence of American citizens, as under the current Electronic Communications Privacy Act, passed in 1986, local and federal police agencies have the ability to read e-mails at will that are at least six months old. The amendment has been part of an attempt to move privacy legislation into the 21st Century and to update electronic information laws to reflect current usage and technology. 

The bill, introduced by Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-KS) in 2015, must be sent to the Senate and pass other legislative hurdles before it becomes law. HR 699 has been supported by those with diverse backgrounds and political ideologies who have come together to reform expansive governmental surveillance power.

HR 699 was passed with the background of an ongoing intelligence scandal related to the revelations surrounding the National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance programs [JURIST backgrounder], which have sparked worldwide debate and concern over citizens' privacy. Last year, current and former US officials released [JURIST report] a report stating that less than 30 percent of all Americans' phone records are being collected due to the inability to keep up with the increased use of cellular phones

Flint residents sue EPA over lead contaminated water

Residents of Flint, Michigan, represented by attorney Michael Pitt [professional profile],filed [complaint, PDF] an administrative complaint against the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) [official website] Monday for negligence in handling the Flint water crisis. The suit alleges that the EPA was notified of contamination in the Flint water supply long before acting in any substantive way to mitigate the harm or properly investigate the complaints. As a result of their inaction, the residents of Flint allege they were subjected to lead in their water supply for over a year causing physical injury to themselves and their property:

As a result of the EPA's negligence claimants have experienced and will continue to experience physical injury, illness lead poisoning, dermatological disorders, loss of hair, gastrointestinal disorders, out of pocket economic losses; claimants have experienced and will continue to experience pain and suffering, emotional distress, deprivation of a quality of life; claimants have experienced property damage to real estate and personal property; claimants have experienced a loss of property value.

The suit is seeking over $200 million in damages.

Numerous lawsuits have been filed in response to the water contamination in Flint. David Leyton, a prosecutor in Genesee County, Michigan, announced last week that a Michigan judge will allow criminal charges [JURIST report] against three people involved in the water crisis in Flint, including the man who supervised the treatment plan as well as two state environmental officials. Earlier this month, the city of Flintfiled [JURIST report] an intent to sue letter with the state, claiming that the city lacks funds to defend itself against lawsuit filed during the water crisis. Hertz Schram PC , a southeastern Michigan firm, filed [JURIST report] a class action lawsuit in March on behalf of the children in Flint who were injured by exposure to the high levels of lead in the city's drinking water.

‘Don’t wait to innovate,’ SRA tells in-house solicitors

In-house solicitors could benefit from greater regulatory flexibility ahead of the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s much-anticipated new era of simplified regulation.

SRA executive director Crispin Passmore told the SRA Regulatory Compliance for In-house Lawyers event in London this morning that changes such as slashing the SRA Handbook length from 600 pages to nearer 50 would be implemented ‘some time’ next year, but not before the spring.

However, he said in the meantime the regulator will 'look at whether or not there are ways for you to adopt the freedoms that come beforehand’.

Passmore (pictured) said: 'We want people to innovate now, not wait until there’s a new handbook. If there are things you want to do [but] regulation is in your way, then tell us. If we can find a way to regulate you safely then we will find a way, as long as it’s lawful.’

Passmore said the reforms would provide clarity on who in-house solicitors can deliver legal services to.

He said: 'If you’re in a local authority or private company, if you want your in-house expertise to be a revenue stream, sell those services to similar sorts of clients, you should be able to do that if it’s non-reserved services, without having to become an alternative business structure.’

Providing insight into the handbook page-slashing exercise, Passmore said the regulator thought it could get the accounts rules down to 10 pages.

'The accounts rules are 70 pages now. They tell you what day of the week to pay cheques into an account. They give you a definition of “reasonable”… If we’re having to define something like “reasonable” then we have got something terribly wrong.’ 

Passmore said the regulator was looking to put a ‘decision tree’ together to help make it easier for in-house solicitors to do pro bono work.

The SRA expects to publish a consultation on parts of the handbook and code of conduct in June. This will be followed by a consultation on the ‘details’ of the authorisation and practice framework rules.