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Nigerian Shiites Leader, El-Zakzaky, Wife Released From Kaduna Prison After 5-Year Illegal Incarceration

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Justice Gideon Kurada of the Kaduna State High Court had earlier acquitted and discharged the Shiites leader, El- Zakzaky, and his wife, Zeenat Ibrahim who had been standing trial in the court for the past four years.

The leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) Ibrahim El-Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenat, have been released from Kaduna Correctional Centre after they were acquitted and discharged by the Kaduna State High Court on Wednesday.

According to their lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), they have left Kaduna for an unknown destination.

Justice Gideon Kurada of the Kaduna State High Court had earlier acquitted and discharged the Shiites leader, El- Zakzaky, and his wife, Zeenat Ibrahim who had been standing trial in the court for the past four years.

In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, Justice Kurada upheld the no-case submission filed by Zakzaky’s lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), saying the witnesses presented by the prosecution counsel had been unable to establish any connection between the charges and El-Zakzaky.

El-Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenat, were standing trial on eight counts bordering on alleged culpable homicide, unlawful assembly, disruption of the public peace, among others.

The defendants had pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against them.

The couple had been in detention since 2015, after IMN supporters clashed with soldiers in Zaria, Kaduna.

Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, had filed a no-case submission and asked the court to dismiss the charges levelled against them as there was no criminal case so far that has been established against the defendants by the Kaduna state government.

The Judge in his judgement held that the charges filed in 2018, under the Kaduna State Penal Code, 2017 over offences allegedly committed on or about December 12, 2015, are incompetent and amount to an abuse of court process.

On the no-case submission filed by the defendants, the court resolved all the eight issues raised therein in favour of El-Zakzaky.

On count one, which bothered on conspiracy, it held that there is no single shred of evidence from which conspiracy can be inferred and that there is no single shred of evidence from which conspiracy can be held to have emanated.

On counts two to seven, the court held that for there to be abatement, there must be evidence of persons abated.

“That on the authority of PATRICK NJOVENS VS THE STATE the element of abatement and ingredients constituting the offences abated must be proved conjunctively. that there is no evidence of anybody abated or anything done to invite any person to commit an offence on December 12, 2015.

“That all the witnesses were grandiosely discredited by the Defense counsel during cross-examination.

“That no credible evidence led that can be competently relied upon… that the no-case submission of the Defendants finds merit and they are hereby discharged and acquitted,” one of the lawyers quoted Justice Kurada as ruling.

During the last sitting, Falana prayed the court to rule in favour of his clients and dismiss the charges levelled against them, saying there was no criminal case established against them so far by the Kaduna State Government.

The prosecuting counsel, Dari Bayero, had presented 15 witnesses, who testified against the defendants, and among them were two army officers, a retired director of State Security Service (SSS), also known as the Department of State Services (DSS), police officers and a medical doctor.

Meanwhile, the media reported on Tuesday that a member of the Resource Forum of the IMN, Mohammed Ibrahim, stated that the members of the group were certain that justice would be served and that their leader, El-Zakzaky would be freed from prison on Wednesday.

Ibrahim said members of the group were patiently waiting for the court to establish a ”no-case submission” regarding the charges levelled against their leader, who has been detained and assaulted since 2015.

Culled from the Sahara Reporters

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Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.

In the suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Emilio Garcia said that after a night out in 2022 in Ibiza, Spain, he was in an SUV with the hip-hop star when she began having sex with another woman right next to him. He was unable to get out of the moving car, and would have been in the middle of nowhere in a foreign country even if he was able. Garcia was “embarrassed, mortified and offended throughout the whole ordeal,” according to the lawsuit.

Alex Spiro, Megan’s lawyer, said she would fight the lawsuit in court.

“This is an employment claim for money — with no sexual harassment claim filed and with salacious accusations to attempt to embarrass her,” Spiro said.

The next day Megan told Garcia never to discuss what he saw and berated and fat-shamed him, the lawsuit said. The complaint also said Garcia, who had already considered quitting because he was overworked and underpaid in a hostile work environment aggravated by Megan’s possessiveness and abusiveness, was misclassified as an independent contractor but treated as an exclusive employee.

Garcia raised those issues in the conversation with Megan, and was fired the following day after four years of working for her, the suit said. He has since filed a job discrimination complaint with the California Civil Rights Department.

The lawsuit, first reported by NBC News, names as defendants Megan, whose legal name is Megan Pete; her companies Megan Thee Stallion Entertainment and Hot Girl Touring; and her label, Roc Nation. A defense response has yet to be filed. There was no immediate response to an email seeking comment from a representative of Roc Nation.

Garcia is seeking financial damages to be determined at trial, alleging he has suffered severely both emotionally and physically because of his treatment on the job, the firing and having to witness the scene in the SUV.

Megan, 29, was previously involved in major legal drama — and underwent a torrent of online abuse — as the victim of a shooting by rapper Tory Lanez, who a jury found fired at her feet on a street in the Hollywood Hills in 2020. She testified at the trial where jurors convicted Lanez of three felonies and a judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison.

Already a major rising artist at the time of the shooting, Megan has since become one of hip-hop’s biggest stars. She won a Grammy for best new artist in 2021, and she had No. 1 singles with “Savage,” featuring Beyoncé, and as a guest on Cardi B’s “WAP.”

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Body of O.J. Simpson to be cremated this week; brain will not be studied for CTE

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April 15 (UPI) — The body of O.J. Simpson, who died last week at the age of 76, is to be cremated, a lawyer representing the ex-football superstar’s estate said, adding his brain will not be donated for research.

Malcolm LaVergne, Simpson’s longtime attorney and executor, told the New York Post that his client’s body is to be cremated Tuesday in Las Vegas.

He said Simpson’s family also gave a “hard no” to scientists seeking to examine the former running back’s brain for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is better known as CTE.

CTE is a rare and little understood brain disorder that is likely caused by repeated blows to the head. According to the Mayo Clinic, CTE results in the death of nerve cells in the brain and the only way to definitively diagnose it is with an autopsy of the organ after death.

Memory and thinking problems, confusion, personality changes and erratic behavior, including aggression, depression and suicidal ideation, are among CTE’s symptoms, the Alzheimer’s Association said.

The disease has been found in those who play contact sports, including football and hockey.

LaVergne confirmed to NBC News on Sunday that at least one person has called seeking Simpson’s brain.

“His entire body, including his brain, will be cremated,” he said.

Simpson died Wednesday following a battle with cancer.

Known by the nickname “The Juice,” Simpson was a NFL superstar during the 1970s, which made him a household name that propelled him into film and television during the next decade.

But his stardom would come crashing down in the mid-1990s when he was accused of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.

His high-profile trial lasted months, but ended with his acquittal.

In 2008, he was found guilty on a dozen charges, including kidnapping and armed robbery, and was paroled in 2017 after serving nine years of his 33-year sentence.

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Houston’s Urban South Brewery Celebrates Fourth Anniversary

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Urban South Brewery Houston will host its upcoming Anniversary Party from Friday, April 5 through Sunday, April 7, in the HTX Taproom, starting at 11 AM, celebrating four years of crafting exceptional brews and fostering community culture. This milestone event will be an exciting day featuring live music, food, activities, and a vendor market.

Beer enthusiasts are also in for a treat with the release of four exclusive anniversary specialty beers. Highlights include “Press Start,” a crafted Czech Pale Lager brewed in collaboration with Parleaux Beer Lab. Additionally, beer fans can indulge in “Level Up,” an Old-Fashioned Cocktail Sour Ale infused with orange peel, Luxardo cherry syrup, and subtle bourbon barrel notes. The offerings continue with “High Score,” a robust Double IPA bursting with flavors of Mosaic, Citra, and Chinook hops, and “Game Over,” a decadent Neapolitan Ice Cream Stout layered with strawberry fruit, Tahitian vanilla bean, and milk chocolate.

To make the celebration even more memorable, fans can pre-order an Exclusive 8-Bit Beer Box featuring the four-anniversary specialty beers (Press Start, Level Up, High Score, Game Over), a 16oz can-shaped Silipint with discounted refills, and 2 tokens redeemable for draft beer.

The Anniversary Party is open to the public, welcoming families and furry friends. Urban South Brewery invites everyone to join in the festivities and toast to four years of brewing excellence.

For more information on Urban South’s Anniversary Celebration, follow the Houston taproom on Instagram and Facebook.

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