Author: Staff Editor
Sadiya Umar Farouq and Bashir Nura Alkali were scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday before the court but failed to appear. Only the third defendant, Sani Nafiu Mohammed, was present in court. The trio are to be arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 21-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, abuse of office, fraudulent award of contracts, and conversion of public funds amounting to about $1,300,000 (One Million, Three Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) and ₦746,574,303 (Seven Hundred and Forty-Six Million, Five Hundred and Seventy-Four Thousand, Three Hundred and Three Naira). Count one of…
At least two million candidates are participating in the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), which commenced nationwide on Thursday. The examination, conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), is scheduled to begin on April 16 across accredited Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres nationwide. According to the agency, a total of 2,243,816 candidates registered for this year’s exercise, representing a 10.5 per cent increase from the 2.03 million recorded in 2025. The examination is being held across accredited CBT centres, with sessions divided into four daily slots to ease congestion and enhance verification processes. JAMB has deployed biometric verification…
The Ogun Magistrate’s Court 1, sitting in Sagamu, Sagamu Local Government Area of the state, and presided over by Magistrate Olufunilayo Somefun, has adjourned the trial of the driver of the Lexus SUV involved in former heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua’s road crash to June 2, 2026. This is about the fourth time the case has been adjourned to allow the prosecuting team to file a fresh charge to the existing information on the case. The defendant, Adeniyi Mobolaji, was charged with four counts, which include allegations of dangerous driving causing death. Mobolaji was charged with allegations of reckless and…
As I noted in my last two interventions, beyond the challenges confronting the judiciary and lawyers in the core dispensation of justice, there are equally troubling issues in the routine administration of the lawyers’ association—the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) itself. It is important that we do not treat this subject as a peripheral concern, for the strength of the Bar is intrinsically tied to the health of the justice system. When the Bar falters, the temple of justice trembles. Since 1992, the Association has hardly been free from crisis. Not only has it experienced a steady decline in cohesion and…
The Department of State Services (DSS) has re-arraigned a former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), and his son, Abdulaziz, before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on an amended charge bordering on alleged terrorism and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition. At the hearing, counsel to the DSS, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), informed the court that an amended charge had been filed to replace the earlier one on which the defendants were initially arraigned. Kehinde subsequently applied to withdraw the earlier charge and requested that the amended charge be read to the defendants for their…
The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has restrained the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) from enforcing parts of its newly issued Digital, Electronic, Online and Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations, 2025, pending the determination of a substantive application before the court. Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa granted the interim injunction following an ex parte motion filed by the Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria (WASPA Nigeria), which is challenging the legality and implementation of the regulations. The association approached the court on April 14, 2026, seeking urgent judicial intervention to halt the enforcement of key provisions of the regulatory…
As part of efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s fight against corruption, the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has called on the Commission’s legal officers to demonstrate greater diligence, precision, and professionalism in preparing charges and court processes. Olukoyede made the call in Lagos on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, at the opening of a three-day intensive training programme for EFCC legal officers held at the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 Conference Hall, Okotie Eboh, Ikoyi. The training, titled “Training Programme for Legal Officers on Preparation and Dealing with Appeals in Financial Crimes and Allied Matters, Evidence…
The trial of Akindele Akintoye, alongside Platforms Capital Investment Partners Limited and Duport Midstream Company Limited, continued on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, before Justice Ekerete Akpan of the Federal High Court, Abuja, with the court refusing to admit in evidence a document tendered by Akintoye containing his request to buy out the shares of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB). The defendants are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an amended six-count charge bordering on dishonesty and the alleged conversion of $35 million belonging to the NCDMB. The application for the admission of…
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, presented its second prosecution witness (PW2) in the ongoing trial of a vessel, MT Ostria, and three others over the alleged theft of 25,354,000 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Retail Limited. The trial is before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos. The defendants—MT Ostria, Captain Raymundo A. Panaligam, Chief Officer Roneno Villarin, and Vincent Wayas—were arraigned by the EFCC on October 29, 2025, on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy and stealing. The…
Justice Rilwan Aikawa of the Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna State has granted the former governor of the state, Nasir El-Rufai, bail. He is being charged for alleged financial misconduct, including deposits into his domiciliary account and how his earnings were handled by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). However, El-Rufai’s bail application was stalled at the Kaduna State High Court, as the presiding judge, Justice Darius Khobo, has reserved ruling on the bail application to April 21, 2026. The former governor is being arraigned before the state high court on multiple charges bordering on…