News

U.S. has inescapable responsibilities for Ukraine crisis

Published

4 years ago

March 30, 2022

By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily
After experiencing profound changes and a pandemic unprecedented in a century, the globe today is confronted with another major issue – the Ukraine crisis. Solving existing and future challenges and pursuing a ceasefire is a common aspiration of all peace-loving nations and peoples.
Major countries should particularly play a constructive role in this. However, the U.S., which has inescapable responsibilities for the crisis, is failing to take actions to resolve it.
The country is on the one hand portraying itself as a so-called “guardian of peace” and a “protector of rule-based international order,” while on the other hand fabricating political stories of democracy combating authoritativeness and justice fighting the evil. It is trying to foment camp confrontations and instigate ideological conflicts, in an attempt to shift responsibilities, make contradictions and contain the development of other countries.
The Ukraine crisis further exposed the essence of American hegemony and the pernicious consequences of Cold War mentality.
The eastern expansion of the U.S.-led NATO is the root cause of the crisis, and the U.S. is the initiator of the crisis. As an international expert pointed out, it’s possible to stop the war only when the background of the war is known to all.
Ukraine’s intricate historical backdrop is the consequence of the interaction of several causes. However, when it comes to the causes and development, as well as the rights and wrongs of the issue, the eastern expansion of the NATO is an inevitable topic.
According to an article recently published by Spanish media organization Rebelion, the insatiable desires of the NATO are the root cause and cancer cells of all these conflicts. It highlighted that the NATO would continue to upgrade among “Western countries” to send the orders of the fake “free world” to farther places, and wage wars against all the countries that oppose its plans.
The NATO is a Cold War hangover. As the Soviet Union dissolved and the Cold War ended in the 1990s, there was no reason left to retain the NATO. However, the alliance, led by the U.S., has been constantly expanding its sphere of influence. Under the disguise of consolidating democracy, ensuring stability and promoting common values, it has again and again broken its promise and expanded eastward five times, pushing its borders eastward by more than 1,000 kilometers. It has deployed massive advanced strategic offensive weapons and promised Ukraine and other countries NATO membership, stabbing the NATO knife to the border of Russia.
American geo-strategic theorist even claimed that an expanding and democratic Europe has to be an open-ended historical process, not subject to politically arbitrary geographic limits. However, rational American academics have long recognized the danger of NATO’s eastern expansion, with one stating that “expanding NATO would be the most fateful error of American policy in the entire post-cold-war era.”
NATO, as a military alliance, has long been used by the White House to further expand American hegemony. The U.S.-led alliance instigated “color revolutions” and has been causing havoc near Russia by repeatedly opening Pandora’s boxes.
The NATO bombed Belgrade without the approval of the U.N. Security Council, destroyed Serbia, and launched wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. All of these contributed to Russia’s feeling of being surrounded, said Academician Andrei Makine of the Institut de France. The West, especially the U.S. shall be responsible for the Ukraine crisis, noted professor John Mearsheimer at the University of Chicago.
From a historical and global point of view, the Ukraine crisis is another world security upheaval directed by the U.S. Since the end of World War II, the U.S. has always been guiding its diplomacy with geopolitics, perceiving the world as a chess board on which a looting game is played.
Incited by such a Cold War mentality, the U.S. remotely staged the Arab Spring in Sub-Saharan Africa, the color revolutions in Europe, the Monroe Doctrine in Latin America, as well as coups and assassinations in a number of countries, wrecking havoc on the international order and jeopardizing world peace.
Alice Weidel, joint leader of the Alternative for Germany party, noted that adhering to the outdated Cold War mentality and arrogantly denying Russia’s major country status, the West has made a promise to Ukraine that’ll never be fulfilled. She called it a catastrophic historical mistake. What’s needed by all parties is a realistic and clear view of geopolitics, and to make utmost efforts to establish a security mechanism for Europe that transcends the West-East camps mentality.
“Why, with all the hopeful possibilities engendered by the end of the cold war, should East-West relations become centered on the question of who would be allied with whom and, by implication, against whom in some fanciful, totally unforeseeable and most improbable future military conflict?” This question raised by former U.S. Ambassador to Soviet Union George Kennan in 1997 is still waiting for an answer from the U.S. government.
As the starter and the biggest driving force of the Ukraine crisis, the U.S. should have some moments of introspection on its dishonorable roles, completely abandon the Cold War mentality and hegemonic practices, and make some meaningful contributions to maintaining global and regional peacekeeping.

News

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

Published

7 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

milcah

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.