News

Consequences of U.S. Cold War mentality destructive to world

Published

4 years ago

April 4, 2022

By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily

A large demonstration was recently staged in Belgrade, capital of Serbia to protest the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia 23 years ago, which was executed without the U.N. Security Council approval and lasted for 78 days.
NATO’s war crime will never be forgotten by the Serbians, the Chinese, or the people in the rest of the world.
The U.S. and the NATO have waged a number of wars in the past decades, tearing countries and regions in different parts of the world apart. These wars demonstrated to all peace-loving people around the globe that the U.S., which is obsessed with Cold War mentality, as well as the U.S.-led NATO, is the biggest source of turbulences in the world.
Since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis, the NATO has purported to be a guardian of peace, order and morality.. It positions itself as an ultimate decision-maker of international affairs, provokes confrontation, and threatens other countries to pick a side with sanctions, so as to reach its geostrategic goals.
However, it’s self-evident who initiated the most ferocious international security conflict in the post-Cold War era. An international political analyst believes that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is a result of U.S. conspiracies and interference.
According to a political dignitary, the conflict could have been avoided if NATO had heeded the warnings from among its own leaders and officials over the years that its eastward expansion would increase regional instability..
The arbitrary decision of the U.S.-led NATO to move its so-called line of defense for collective security to the borders of Russia and Ukraine has directly turned down the opportunity to settle the Russia-Ukraine conflict through negotiations and led to a war between the two countries.
“We say we’re a peaceful nation. Why do our leaders always keep us at war?” That’s a very good question once raised by The Washington Post in one of its articles.
The U.S. always talks about peace, but it is indeed marching along the opposite path – wars. It’s a country that’s addicted to wars, and the American history is exactly a history of wars, which is a fact recognized by the international society. It is indicated by the photos posted by many people on social media of how their countries look like after U.S. bombings, as well as the miserable stories of themselves and their families in the wars launched by the U.S.
According to U.S. website War History Online, America has been at war 93 percent of the time since it was founded in 1776. After the World War II, Uncle Sam extended the tentacles of interference to the whole world, and became even more unscrupulous after the Cold War ended. A study by professor Monica Duffy Toft of international politics at Tufts University showed that the U.S. was engaged in 46 military interventions from 1948 to 1991, and the number more than quadrupled to 188 between 1992 and 2017. It’s fair to say that there was a trace of the country in almost every conflict that happened.
The U.S.-based magazine Foreign Policy once pointed out that the U.S. may feel an impulse to start a foreign war as long as it is deemed necessary, and as for the terrible humanitarian disasters resulting from these foreign wars, they will be borne by others.
American historian Alan Brinkley recorded in the book American History that during the Vietnam War, the U.S. military carpet-bombed Vietnamese villages, tore down buildings with bulldozers, and wiped out fields and forests with chemical agents, killing two million civilians and forced over three million refugees to flee their homes.
Furthermore, the U.S.-led NATO employed depleted uranium weapons, which are banned by international treaties, in bombing Yugoslavia, and caused long-term negative impacts on Serbia’s environment and people’s health. Following the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. successively launched wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, leading to regional turbulences and spillover of security threats.
According to Smithsonian, the official journal published by the Smithsonian Institution, the U.S. launched military actions in the name of “counter-terrorism” in around 40 percent of the countries on the globe after 2001. The Costs of War project at Brown University indicated that these so-called “counter-terrorism” wars have killed over 800,000 people and displaced more than 38 million. The refugee problem that has plagued Europe for years was indeed to a large extent caused by the warlike nature of the U.S.
The U.S. has devolved into a destroyer, and Washington is obsessed with armed forces rather than building peace, according to Stephen Wertheim, Deputy Director of Research and Policy at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.
Repeatedly provoking conflicts and wars, showing indifference to peace talks, and even trying to protract the conflict, the U.S. has fully revealed that to protect global and regional peace and stability is never a priority in its strategy. What matters most to the country is its dominance in the international landscape, especially in the so-called “superpower game.”
The above point is well explained by the Ukraine crisis: what makes the U.S.-led NATO contain Russia is the White House’s intention to take dominance on the issue of European security.
We live in the 21st century, but the U.S. is still reluctant to abandon the outdated zero-sum games. The warlike U.S. is the largest destroyer of international order, and is in no position to play a guardian of peace.

News

The Most Shocking A/Court ‘Judgment’ in Nigerian History: An unfortunate precedent that should not be allowed to stand

Published

5 hours ago

November 30, 2025

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The last is yet to be heard of wide ranging ex-parte orders as this time around, the charade has moved to the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division. In the case of FBN Quest & Another vs. Nestoil & Others, the Court of Appeal’s ex parte orders are not only egregious but a chilling sign of judicial capture, smacking of dirty practices at best and corruption at worst.

On Thursday, 27th November 2025, at exactly 2:00pm, Justice Yargata Nimpar delivered a ‘ruling ’ that appeared like a thief in the night, a ghost and unscheduled, the said decision came upon a Motion Ex-parte which was not heard not argued in open court, yet it surfaced, fully written, signed, stamped, and delivered as though it had lived a full life on the Court of Appeal docket.

For many Nigerians, the judiciary has again weathered the storms. Veterans of the legal system describe this episode as “a daylight heist… a judicial armed robbery without guns.”

The controversies over wide ranging ex-parte applications, it would seem, has found its way to the Court of appeal, an intermediate court with limited original jurisdiction as donated to it by statute.

In this instance, barely two weeks ago, we reported the ex-parte orders against NESTOIL and the other defendants listed in the suit before the Federal High Court which led to the transfer of the suit to another judge.

The said interim orders were vacated by effluxion of time, being that ex-parte orders last for only 14 days.

The court however ordered parties to maintain status quo and adjourned the Motion on Notice for hearing by the consent of the parties. That Motion is still pending before the Federal High Court.

It would seem that in order to frustrate that pending Motion, the Plaintiffs somehow filed a similar application to the Court of Appeal which was granted an order ex-parte directing the Lower Court not to take any further steps, including determining the pending application filed by Plaintiffs (now Appellants).

This magically resurrected, fast-tracked application seem to have been rubber-stamped at the fictional “Appeal Bench of Shadows,” as insiders have begun calling it.

A CASE THAT NEVER EXISTED — YET RECEIVED A JUDGMENT

Our Judiciary correspondent gathered that when the court’s official list for the day was released, nothing seemed amiss. No controversial cases. No unexpected hearings.

But somewhere inside the dusty chambers of bureaucracy, a secret file was already being prepared and by 2pm, a judgment carrying the signatures of an entire appeal panel had surfaced — even though none of them had appeared in open court and when the case itself had never been argued before any High Court, making an appellate ruling legally impossible.

By evening, whispers had turned into rumblings. Court workers who handled the mysterious document reported unusual instructions: No public sitting; No mention on the court list; No access to case filings; No digital record and No audio recording of proceedings. Yet an order was made retrospectively to undo a completed act! which is yet another impossibility in law, because the exparte order cannot restore what has been already executed.

“It was like dealing with a ghost file,” one clerk said. “It appeared from nowhere and disappeared into official archives as though it had always existed.”

This judgment, once delivered, spread like wildfire, with legal scholars calling it “a constitutional impossibility.” Veterans said they had never seen anything similar since the 1970s.

Enquiries from our judiciary correspondents indicate that an application can only be hinged upon a valid Notice of Appeal against a decision of a lower court before any application can be entertained at the Court of Appeal.

Further Investigations by our judiciary correspondent reveals that no such Notice of Appeal has been filed nor served on the respondents; no parties have been invited to Settle Records and no Records of Appeal have been transmitted.

One wonders the platform or upon which grounds the ex-parte order was made, observed one senior lawyer, especially as a similar pending application filed by the Appellants has been adjourned for Hearing by the Federal High Court.

Furthermore, the case at the trial court before Justice Osiagor has not been heard on its merits, which documents was placed before the appellate court and all applications before the judge has not been heard or is the court of appeal now a trial court.

A JUDICIARY AT A CROSSROADS

Public outrage rose quickly. Lawyers described the situation as “a hijacking of justice by shadowy interests.” Civil society groups demanded explanations.

A Judiciary where justice can be manufactured behind closed doors…a legal system where influence not merit, decides outcomes…and an institution tested by the weight of powerful external forces, et cetera should not be allowed to thrive.

AN ERA-DEFINING SCANDAL

This judgement will stand as one of the most dramatic challenges ever faced by Nigeria’s justice system. The shockwaves has rippled far beyond the courtroom — touching politics, business, security agencies, and public trust.

One thing is clear: This is the kind of judicial earthquake that rewrites history, shakes institutions, and forces a nation to confront the truths it fears the most. Our judicial correspondences were able to get an incline of the ex-parte orders made by the Court of Appeal as follows:

AN ORDER of interim restorative injunction reversing all steps taken by the Respondents and/or persons purporting to act on the instructions of the Respondents and which steps or actions were taken pursuant to the order of the Federal High Court coram Osiagor, J made on the 20th day of November 2025 pending the hearing and determination of the Appellants’ Motion on Notice filed on the 26th day of November 2025.
AN ORDER of interim injunction restraining the Respondents, their agents, servants, affiliates, and privies from interfering with and interrupting the Receiver/Manager in the performance of his duties pending the hearing and determination of the Appellants’ Motion on Notice filed on 26th November 2025.
AN ORDER staying further proceedings at the lower court pending the hearing and determination of the Appellants’ Motion on Notice filed on the 26th November 2025.

A SHOCKING DEPARTURE FROM JUDICIAL NORMS

Therefore, the Lagos Court of Appeal’s decision to grant ex parte orders in FBN Quest & Another vs. Nestoil & Others stunned the legal community as ex-parte rulings are meant for rare emergencies and hardly exercised by appellate courts. By acting without hearing both sides, while the matter was already before the Federal High Court, the Court of Appeal has undermined the principle of natural justice and distorted its own role.

NIGERIAN IMAGE AT RISK

At a time when Nigeria is striving to reposition its global reputation, this case sends the wrong message. It portrays the country as one where courts can be hijacked by private interests, where fairness is discarded, and where corruption lurks behind judicial robes. For investors and international partners, it reinforces damaging stereotypes of weak institutions and compromised justice.

AN URGENT CALL FOR INVESTIGATION

These orders are not just irregular — they are evidence of judicial capture. They must be investigated urgently. The Chief Justice of Nigeria, the National Judicial Council, the President of the Court of Appeal and the Nigerian Bar Association cannot remain silent. If appellate courts become arenas for ex-parte adventures, Nigeria’s justice system risks collapse under the weight of manipulation.

CLOSING NOTE

The Court of Appeal’s conduct in FBN Quest & Another vs. Nestoil & Others is more than a misstep, it is a warning sign of judicial capture. If Nigeria is serious about restoring its image and strengthening democracy, this case must be investigated, accountability enforced, and reforms implemented. Anything less would be an abdication of the judiciary’s sacred duty to uphold justice. We must not allow that to happen.
A very Senior lawyer emphasize that the exparte order of the court of appeal lagos division in Nestoil has the possibility of eroding administrative control of Heads of superior Court from assigning or re assigning matters within their respective courts. Furthermore both the President of the Court of Appeal and the Chief Justice of Nigeria may not have the authority to disband a panel and re- constitute another panel over any matter in their respective courts. This decision is a total anarchy to the judiciary and urgent steps must be taken to vacate the strange Court of appeal exparte order.

The conduct of the court of appeal justices is not excusable anywhere in the world and it’s indeed has brought the court of Appeal justices who constituted the panel to ridicule

News

Pius Akutah’s Alleged Fraud at Nigerian Shippers Council Uncovered

Published

2 days ago

November 28, 2025

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Investigations by Nigerian Concord Newspaper reveal that the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council, Mr. Pius Akutah, has allegedly misappropriated public funds for a lavish lifestyle.

According to our findings, within months of assuming office, Akutah allegedly purchased a bulletproof SUV valued at approximately N850 million. In addition, he is reported to have acquired over twenty exotic SUVs for use as a convoy.

Akutah is also said to have acquired multiple high-value properties, including three in Abuja’s Maitama and Asokoro districts worth over N2 billion, and two in Lagos’ Banana Island valued at N1.8 billion. These acquisitions appear far beyond the scope of his official salary and allowances.

Further investigation suggests that Akutah may be using public funds to support political ambitions, including allegedly grooming militants across 23 local government areas in Benue State for a potential 2027 gubernatorial bid.

Staff of the Shippers Council reportedly claim that Akutah frequently accesses the council’s treasury without proper authorization. Some insiders have indicated that a petition will soon be filed with the EFCC, ICPC, and the Presidency to report his alleged misconduct.