Home Blog Page 143

Army blames local militias, denies killing women protesters in Adamawa, for attack

The Nigerian Army has dismissed as “baseless and misleading” reports alleging that soldiers attached to the Commander of the 23 Brigade, Yola, shot and killed women protesters during a communal clash in Adamawa State on Monday.

In a statement signed by the Acting Assistant Director of Army Public Relations, Sector 4 Operation Hadin Kai/23 Brigade, Captain Olusegun Abidoye, on Tuesday, December 8, the Army described the report as “nothing short of an attempt to smear the image of the Brigade, its Commander, and by extension, the Nigerian Army.”

According to the statement, neither the Brigade Commander nor his escorts were at the scene of the incident as alleged. “The Brigade Commander was participating virtually in the Chief of Army Staff’s weekly operational briefing at the time of the purported shooting,” Abidoye clarified.

Read Also: Just In! Horror as Nigerian soldiers escorting Brigade Commander in Yola shoot dead seven protesting women, many injured

The Army explained that troops from the 23 Brigade Garrison, alongside personnel of the Nigerian Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and the Department of State Services (DSS), were deployed in the early hours of Monday, December 8, following reports of renewed clashes between the Bachama and Chobo communities in Lamurde Local Government Area of Adamawa State.

The clashes, according to the statement, stemmed from “unresolved land disputes and ethnic acrimony” between the two tribes.

Captain Abidoye said that troops swiftly moved to restore order in the affected communities: Tingno, Rigange, Tito, Waduku, and Lamurde, but were attacked by a militia group suspected to be aligned with one of the warring sides.

“The troops, being a professional, adaptable and combat-ready force, decisively engaged the militia armed men in a firefight,” he said. “During the exchange, three gunmen were neutralised, and others fled the general area. The troops later discovered five additional dead militia members along their withdrawal route, alongside a motorcycle.” he said

While troops were moving to secure the Lamurde Local Government Secretariat, Abidoye said, a group of women blocked the road in protest, even as armed men from the Bachama side fired indiscriminately nearby.

“Troops then created a passage and proceeded to the Local Government Secretariat to secure the area. At this point, no woman was shot or injured. Otherwise, troops would not have been allowed to find any passage through the crowd,” the statement emphasised.

Abidoye revealed that two corpses of women were later brought to the Local Government Lodge by community members, who accused the troops of killing them. He, however, said preliminary findings indicated that the deaths were caused by the “unprofessional handling of automatic weapons by local militias who are not trained to use such weapons.”

The 23 Brigade expressed condolences to the families of the deceased women and urged both Bachama and Chobo communities to embrace peace.

“The Brigade deeply sympathises with the families of the slain women and urges the warring communities to avoid unnecessary loss of lives and destruction of property,” Abidoye said.

He reaffirmed the Army’s commitment to professionalism and constitutional duty in aid of civil authorities, stressing that the Brigade “remains resolute and committed to maintaining peace and stability” in its area of responsibility.

The statement concluded with a call on the public to “disregard the malicious report” circulating online.

N40b Defamation Suit: FCT High Court orders substituted service on Wike, fixes March 24 for hearing

Following a N40 billion defamation suit against the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) sitting in Gwarinpa, on Tuesday, ordered service on him by substituted means.

Justice M. A. Hassan, who issued the order while ruling in an ex parte application, specifically ordered that the applicant should paste the writ of summons, statement of claims, witness statement on oath, hearing notice and the entire court documents on the gate of the headquarters of the FCT, in Garki, Abuja.

At Tuesday’s proceedings, the applicant’s lawyer, Mr Jibrin Okutepa, SAN, narrated the inability to serve the court summons on the Wike and prayed that the court permit the plaintiff to serve the court’s documents through substituted service.

Having granted the request, Justice Hassan fixed March 24 and 25, 2026, for hearing in the suit number CV/4502/25.

The plaintiff, a former candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 governorship election in Rivers State, Mr Tonye Patrick Cole, had dragged the FCT Minister and Channels Incorporated Limited to court over alleged defamation.

Cole is seeking N40 billion in damages over alleged defamatory statements made by Wike during a live broadcast on Channels TV’s “Politics Today” on September 18.

According to the writ of summons and the attached statement of claim, Cole alleged that Wike’s statements during a live broadcast on Channels TV’s “Politics Today” on September 18 were false, malicious, offensive, and damaging to his reputation in personal, professional, and public capacities.

Court documents indicate that Mr Wike referred to Mr Cole in a manner suggesting financial impropriety and mismanagement of state resources, including allegations related to Rivers State gas and the Olympia Hotel.

Mr Cole’s legal team, led by Jibrin Okutepa SAN, argued that the statements are defamatory, as they impute dishonesty and wrongdoing, gravely injuring his client’s standing both nationally and internationally.

The claimant is seeking N40 billion for alleged damages resulting from what he described as a “malicious, reckless, and unfounded defamatory broadcast and publications,” which caused him injury, humiliation, mental anguish, and reputational harm.

Mr Cole is also seeking N500 million for the cost of the legal action, as well as several injunctive and declaratory reliefs. These include a declaration that the statements were false and defamatory, an order directing the defendants to retract the claims and remove all copies from all platforms, and a public apology broadcast on Channels TV and published in at least five national newspapers.

The claimant also seeks a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from further publishing or disseminating defamatory material related to him.

Mr Cole’s legal team said a pre-action notice and letter of demand dated 8 October were served on both Mr Wike and Channels Television, but the defendants failed to comply, prompting the initiation of court proceedings.

The court has directed the defendants to enter an appearance within 21 days of service of the writ.

Disgraced bar leader challenges lifetime ban, cites ‘friendly messages’ with junior

Former Criminal Bar Association chair Jo Sidhu KC has asked the High Court to overturn his lifetime ban from the legal profession, arguing that his disbarment for sexual misconduct was “disproportionate” to the findings against him.

Sidhu, one of the UK’s most high-profile criminal barristers, was struck off in March after a Bar Standards Board (BSB) tribunal ruled that he engaged in inappropriate conduct toward a woman in her 20s who was shadowing him during a mini-pupillage in 2018.

The tribunal found that Sidhu, then in his 50s, invited the junior colleague to his hotel room for work, asked her to remain overnight in his bed, and later initiated consensual physical contact. The panel held that the behaviour breached professional standards and risked “diminishing trust” in the barristers’ profession, particularly given Sidhu’s seniority and the woman’s junior status as a paralegal.

In written arguments filed with the High Court, Sidhu’s legal team—led by Shakespeare Martineau—said the sanction went beyond what the facts supported. They claim the tribunal overstated the level of harm involved and failed to align the penalty with similar cases in which other professionals found guilty of misconduct did not receive lifetime bans.

Sidhu’s lawyers say a series of messages exchanged between the pair for nearly two years after the incident shows they maintained a friendly rapport, which, they argue, undermines the finding of “significant harm.”

“Mr Sidhu has always believed that the tribunal’s decision of disbarment was disproportionate,” his lawyer Daniel Jennings said. “He does not challenge the findings of misconduct and accepts them in full. He deeply regrets his actions, which—though consensual—were inappropriate. He is deeply sorry to Person Two for the way he acted.”

The BSB declined to comment on the ongoing legal challenge.

The High Court will determine whether the tribunal’s sanction should stand or be reconsidered, a decision that could shape how professional-conduct penalties are applied in future cases involving senior-junior power dynamics.

From Nigeria to Oxford to The Hague—Starmer backs Nigerian-born scholar Dapo Akande for World Court

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has formally endorsed Nigerian-born international law scholar Professor Dapo Akande as Britain’s candidate for the International Court of Justice (ICJ), calling him “exceptionally well-qualified” to serve on the UN’s highest judicial body.

In a letter circulated to UN member states, Starmer said the United Kingdom is “delighted” to nominate Akande for the 2027–2036 term, describing the Oxford professor as a “formidable judge” whose expertise is urgently needed as the ICJ faces one of the heaviest caseloads in its history.

Starmer highlighted Akande’s decades-long career as a global authority on public international law, pointing to his service on the UN’s International Law Commission, his influential scholarship, and his record advising governments across all five UN regional blocs.

“Professor Akande brings a wealth of experience from 25 years of teaching and practising international law,” Starmer wrote. “His independence, global perspective and legal rigour will help guide the Court in the years ahead.”

Akande, the Chichele Professor of Public International Law at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of All Souls College, has acted as counsel or expert before nearly every major international tribunal, including the ICJ, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the European Court of Human Rights, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the WTO’s dispute panels. He is also on the panel of arbitrators at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.

Responding to the nomination, Akande said he was “deeply honoured,” stressing that the ICJ plays a critical role in maintaining global order.

“The Court assists states in resolving disputes peacefully on the basis of international law,” he said. “If elected, it would be an even greater privilege to contribute to its work at a time when confidence in the rule of law in international affairs is more essential than ever.”

Akande emphasised that his candidacy reflects a career spent bridging legal traditions around the world—from his early legal training in Nigeria to senior academic and advisory roles across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.

He noted that he has advised the UN, African Union, ASEAN, the Council of Europe and the Organisation of American States, and has taught generations of government lawyers through UN regional legal training programmes.

“As a generalist international lawyer, I have worked across a wide range of fields—from armed conflict and human rights to boundary disputes and international economic law,” he said. “This breadth of experience will be an asset at the ICJ.”

The election for the next round of ICJ judges will take place in the UN General Assembly and Security Council in autumn 2026. Should Akande win, he would become one of the very few Africans ever nominated by a Western state for the World Court.

NIS officer accused of killing colleague over lover still walking free two years later

An officer on the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Immigration (ASI1) with the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Luka Solomon, is still in service two years after killing Dayal Zephanial, his colleague, with a dagger.

FIJ learnt from a reliable source within the service that while Solomon was suspended after the incident, he is still recognised as an officer.

The source stated that despite his suspension, the officer was spotted in Port Harcourt in October 2024 writing promotional exams meant for serving officers. This was at the same time he was meant to be on trial for Zephanial’s death.

He further noted that because the ASI1 was suspended and not dismissed, it made it difficult for the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to effectively prosecute him.

“When the incident happened, the NIS was supposed to dismiss Solomon and hand him over to the Akwa Ibom State Police Command for trial,” the source stated.

“But for some reason, they chose to suspend him instead. And because he is on suspension, the police said they can’t prosecute Solomon, as he is still in service, even though they are done with their investigations.

“The police further said that they had to release Solomon because he had overstayed in their custody, and his continued detention could stir up human rights violation issues. This, the police said, included the cost of feeding him in detention and ensuring his well-being.”

The insider stated that the police were particularly concerned about prosecuting him for murder while his dismissal from service was yet to be finalised.

In a statement released by the NIS on November 20, the service listed Solomon as one of the 64 officers invited for questioning before its Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee (SSDC) on November 28.

The officers were to appear for various offences, and Solomon’s own was listed as murder.

KILLED OVER A CONCUBINE

On May 19, 2023, at about noon, Solomon and Zephanial were at the barracks in Oron Control Post, Oron, when an argument ensued between the two of them.

Solomon, a senior officer, is in the marine patrol unit under the Akwa-Ibom State NIS Command, while the deceased worked in the Border Patrol Unit but didn’t directly report to the command.

According to FIJ’s source, the senior colleague was hunched over a meal when he accused the deceased of hanging out with his mistress owing to his wife’s visit to the state.

“Solomon’s wife had come to visit him in Oron, so he no longer had the time to move freely with this mistress. Meanwhile, Zephanial, on the other hand, was seeing the same woman, which angered his senior colleague,” the insider said.

The insider noted that those around tried to separate them, but Solomon managed to stab the junior officer on the neck with his dagger.

“By the time he was taken to the hospital, he was declared dead on arrival.”

NOW WALKING FREE

After the murder, Solomon was remanded at Ikot Ekpene Prison within the state, and more than one year later, he sat for a promotional exam.

Zephanial, who is from Plateau State, has since been buried, but FIJ understands that his wife has now been given an appointment in the service as compensation.

Meanwhile, there are claims that Solomon has now been promoted to the rank of a Deputy Superintendent (DSI), making him a three-star officer from his previous two-star rank. But FIJ could not independently verify this.

On Friday, FIJ texted ASI1 Rowland Ekoh, the spokesperson of the Akwa-Ibom NIS Command, for comments on why Solomon is still in service and the outcome of the SSDC.

In his response, he said that the case had been forwarded to the service headquarters for disciplinary actions. He also referred our reporter to the headquarters for further inquiries.

“To the best of my knowledge, the above case was forwarded to the Service Headquarters for further senior disciplinary actions,” Ekoh told FIJ.

“I will suggest you visit the service’s headquarters for further inquiries, Ma’am.”

FIJ also sent an email to the NIS official email address on Friday morning for comments on Solomon’s discipline, but no response has been received at press time.

FIJ then called Timfon Efon, the spokesperson of the Akwa-Ibom State Police Command, for a reaction on the officer’s release and his prosecution, but she didn’t take the two calls placed to her on Monday. A follow-up WhatsApp message is yet to be responded to.

Except for the altered headline, this story was originally written and published by Foundation For Investigative Journalism (FIJ)

Video: Medical doctor raises alarm over dye-adulterated palm oil in circulation, reveals how to detect dye-adulterated palm oil

A popular Nigerian medical doctor, health influencer and content creator, Aproko Doctor, has raised an alarm over the circulation of dye-adulterated palm oil. 

In a video shared on social media, Aproko Doctor mentioned that the unscrupulous traders include the dye in the fake palm oil so it looks as red as the original palm oil.

‘’Omo, people are wicked. What do you mean you are putting dye in palm oil so it will look red, and you are selling it to people who know that what people are actually drinking or putting in their food is not actual palm oil, but something mixed with dye?

Certain dyes are actually carcinogenic, which can lead to cancer in some people. So when you hear our life expectancy in Nigeria is 50-something years old, these are part of the reasons.”

He went on to educate Nigerians on how to identify a dye-adulterated palm oil.

Watch the video below

Credits: Linda Ikeji

Nigerian soldiers in Benin Republic

By Suyi Ayodele

I have been asking if whatever President Bola Tinubu did in Cotonou on Sunday is worth celebrating. My mind keeps racing to the now extinct town of Àpá and how its legend, the one who could have saved the town, abandoned it to help other villages and towns survive to the detriment of his own place of birth.

The legend is short. Ògún, the god of iron, whom many praise as “Ògún Onírè” (Ògún the one from Ìrè Èkìti), history says, was never a native of Ìrè Èkìtì. His hometown is known as Àpá. But the town is no more because its neighbours waged war against it till no single soul remained.

According to the story, a renowned Babaláwo, Ológbòjígòlò, who would have saved the town, also failed because he did not follow the instruction given to him by Ifa. When Ológbòjígòlò set out on his divination voyage, he asked three junior diviners, Èhìnìwàmowò (I look the future from the past), Mowòréré (I look intently) and Mowòjojo (I look deeply), to ask Ifa what the journey held for him.

Ifa, the three diviners told Ológbòjígòlò, said that the old Babaláwo would prosper on the journey if he avoided eating overripe kolanut and marrying two women no matter how prosperous he became. No sacrifice was required, just obedience.

The first place of call was Àpá. Ológbòjígòlò found the town in ruins. He wondered where Ògún was when neighbours waged war against his town. Those left said that Ògún elected to save other communities at the expense of his own. Ológbòjígòlò elected to help, and he did according to the Babaláwo he was. When another war broke out between Àpá and one of its neighbours, Àpá people prevailed. And that pattern continued till the town became lively, full of people, again.

But as years went by, Ológbòjígòlò became rich and powerful. His taste changed. He started eating overripe kolanut. He married another woman to join the one that followed him to Àpá. The second wife, a kolanut seller, became his favourite. Trust women. Within months of becoming Ológbòjígòlò’s wife, the new wife had obtained all the necessary information about how Apa found its mojo at war fronts.

Pronto, the woman escaped Apa and told her people the secret behind Àpá’s successes at battles. At the next war, Apa was defeated, the town burned down, and Ológbòjígòlò was captured. He had to escape, using magic.

By the time Ògún heard the bad news, there was nothing he could do. The story says that was why Ògún could not return to his homeland and settled in Ìrè, where he had earlier committed murder over an empty keg of palm wine! Every strongman, who leaves his homestead in distress to defend another, ends up not having a home to return to! That, the narrator, says, is the didacticism in the story.

The people of Benin Reublic woke up on the morning of Sunday, December 7, 2025, to martial music on their radio and television stations. Some daredevil soldiers, led by Colonel Pascal Tigri, were on air, announcing that they had taken over the government of the tiny West African country. Then Bola Tinubu’s Nigeria moved in and crushed them.

Like Ògún, President Tinubu left the insecurity bedevilling Nigeria to go and play god in Benin Republic on Sunday. And his men are asking us to praise him! So, our President has the capacity to deploy troops to troubled spots the way he did last Sunday? He has the willpower to order the Nigerian Armed Forces to go and quell a rebellion in a neighbouring country, yet he lacks the same mojo when it comes to confronting Boko Haram, terrorists and bandits in our backyards?

Nigeria is heavily pregnant. Its Expected Delivery Date (EDD) is close. The nation waits in bated breath. We keep vigils, we pray non-stop. Nigerians hardly sleep with their two eyes closed. Many of us don’t sleep at all. The expectation is palpable. Will the pregnancy deliver good or evil? Nobody knows; nobody is sure.

Then the news came. Our midwife has loaned out the nation’s delivery channel to another pregnant woman! Mo gbé, someone ululated! Who does that? Another echoed. What do you call this type of behaviour? Someone else asked in disbelief.

The answer came rushing at us from the fortified Aso Rock Villa where our President and Commander-in-Chief, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, resides. “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has commended the gallantry of Nigeria’s military on Sunday for responding swiftly to the request by the Government of the Republic of Benin to save its 35-year-old democracy from coup plotters who struck at dawn today.” That was the opening paragraph of the ‘Press House Statement’ endorsed by Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu’s spokesman.

The Benin Republic shares a border with Nigeria. That should be one of the borders our new Minister of Defence, General Christopher Gwabin Musa (Rtd), said we should fence to ward off terrorists and bandits. Whatever happens in Cotonou, the capital city of the Republic of Benin, has its multiplying effects on Abuja, our Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The news of the military takeover in the Republic of Benin rattled President Tinubu. That feeling is natural. The Republic of Benin under the leadership of Patrice Guillaume Athanase Talon, and Nigeria under Tinubu share one common denominator. It is called rudderless leadership! Many argue that the situation in the Republic of Benin appears even better than what we have here in Nigeria. What do we make of that? Is there a difference between leprosy and scabies (sé ìyàtò wà nínú ètè àti èyi bí)?

A successful military putsch in the Republic of Benin is a bad omen for Nigeria. President Tinubu must naturally panic at such scary news. When one’s mate dies suddenly, one is cautioned to interpret the signal correctly. The semblance of democracy in the Benin Republic is 35 years old. Its Nigerian counterpart is 26 years old. If Talon is successfully shoved aside via the barrel of the gun, Abuja would no longer sleep peacefully. The situation became more precarious given that not quite a month ago, Nigeria claimed that it foiled a coup in its embryo.

So, President Tinubu did what endangered species in such circumstances should do. Without any recourse to the national Assembly (he shouldn’t worry about those lots in Abuja anyway), the President answered his appellation as the Commander-in-Chief. He scrambled some Nigerian Air Force (NAF) fighter jets and ordered them to Cotonou. He did not stop there. The President mobilised some men in our Infantry and marched them to the Benin Republic.

The order was clear. The mission was defined. And the instruction was unambiguous. ‘Flush out the rebels and restore democracy’, Tinubu presumably roared. Within hours, the assignment was completed. The order was carried out with military precision and mathematical accuracy. Within hours, the ragtag soldiers holding the Benin Republic by the jugular were routed!

Our NAF fighter jets were something else in the Beninois airspace. The noise of the jets sent shivers through the weak spines of the rebels. They fled in all directions. The Nigerian foot soldiers also entered Cotonou seamlessly. They were sights to behold. They fanned out in quick order, taking over the entire television and radio houses! Who is an epileptic person in the face of the one who dies completely (tani ńjé akúwárápá níwájú eni tó kú yányán)?

Back home, Tinubu beat his chest. His hangers-on hailed him. ‘Mr. President, you have done fantastically well’, they praised the president. Onanuga rushed to his computer room and typed on, his wine-soaked fingers dancing yoyo on the keyboard. He wrote:

“President Tinubu commends Nigeria’s Armed Forces for protecting democracy in the Benin Republic… Today, the Nigerian armed forces stood gallantly as a defender and protector of constitutional order in the Republic of Benin on the invitation of the government…They have helped stabilise a neighbouring country and have made us proud of their commitment to sustaining our democratic values and ideals since 1999…”

Onanuga did not forget to tell us that the requests for intervention from the Government of Benin came through “a verbal note!” He added that “President Tinubu first ordered Nigerian Air Force fighter jets to enter the country and take over the airspace to help dislodge the coup plotters from the National TV and a military camp where they had regrouped.”

Our Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Olufemi Oluyede, he further disclosed, “said all the requests have been fulfilled, with Nigerian ground forces now in Benin”, with the caveat: “Ours is to comply with the order of the Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces, President Tinubu.” The import here is strong. All Tinubu needs to do is to give the order and our soldiers will simply obey!

Minutes after Onanuga’s statement, Tinubu’s clappers-club members went to town. We should celebrate the President’s swiftness and dexterity, they said. Only a strategist like President Tinubu could have saved a nation in distress the way he did in the Republic of Benin. To them, and they want us to believe, Tinubu has done what Napoleon could not do! The Hallelujah boys are all over the place, their noise deafening!

We have said it times without number in the past. What is lacking in the fight against insecurity in Nigeria is not manpower. What we lack is the political willpower of those in authority to do that which is noble, right and of good conscience. Because Tinubu’s Presidency is threatened, because he could suffer the same fate as his fellow lethargic President in the Republic of Benin , he suddenly realised that he could order our troops with specific and definite order and get results within hours!

Onanuga said “the Nigerian armed forces stood gallantly as a defender and protector of constitutional order in the Republic of Benin…They have helped stabilise a neighbouring country….” We may yet ask him when is he going to pen such lofty words about the dexterity of our armed forces’ dexterity in curtailing and containing terrorism in Nigeria? If our soldiers (Army and Air Force) are so good, why has Boko Haram endured since 2009? How come the jets that would not work in Nigeria suddenly became superlative in the Republic of Benin? Why have we not used the same jets on the bandits holding Nigeria and Nigerians bound to violence?

On a personal note, nothing in me would support military rule, anywhere in Africa! And it stops at that. Methinks that beyond the emotional condemnation of the soldiers trying to leave their barracks for the government houses in Africa, we also need to ask what our civilian leaders are doing wrongly to warrant the military venturing into government.

This is the fundamental issue that we should address. President Tinubu, by his Sunday action, has demonstrated beyond doubt that with the right attitude to governance, Nigeria can suppress the activities of terrorists, bandits and Boko Haram within hours! The question is: will politics ever allow him to act so decisively here in Nigeria?

This is why Nigerians should become more affirmative in asking the President to answer his name as the Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Forces. President Tinubu should stop playing Ògún while our Apa remains in ruins. Good enough, he has ‘saved’ democracy in the Republic of Benin. We appreciate the fact that, like Onanuga penned, “Nigeria stands firmly with the government and people of the Republic of Benin.” Now is the time for President Tinubu to stand firmly with the people of Nigeria, the ones who elected him their leader. This is what he was elected to do.

I hate, and very deeply too, the allusion to the diplomatic big-daddy-posture of Nigeria in the Benin Republic affairs. I personally feel sad that while Nigerians are killed in their hundreds daily by terrorists and bandits, with little or no help from our armed forces and with the President being notoriously flatfooted, the same President mobilised material and human resources to far way Cotonou to fight renegade soldiers who took control of government over there.

I keep asking what benefit democracy serves in Nigeria when our people are slaughtered daily and the few soldiers we have are on a mission to the Republic of Benin just because our President entered panic mode! What happens, God forbid, if for instance, the military strikes in Ghana tomorrow, and in Cameroon day after? How many men do we have to deploy? How many fighter jets?

The beauty of the whole Sunday exercise is that President Tinubu has justified our claim that his greatest undoing is his predilection to place politics above the people’s welfare. The only time he felt genuinely threatened, he did the needful by sending Nigerian troops to flush out the coupists in Benin Republic. We should all feel nauseated!

At the risk of fitting into the figure of those Jesus Christ upbraided in Luke 4:23, I say on behalf of the hapless and helpless Nigerians who die daily in the hands of terrorists, “…physician (President Tinubu), heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum (Benin Republic), do also here in thy country (Nigeria).”

The views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Law & Society Magazine.

Dada v the state: Police and security of life (1)

Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN

‘The security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of the government.’  – Section 14 (2) (b)

INTRODUCTION

Section 4 of The Nigeria Police Establishment Act 2020 provides that ‘the police shall be employed for the prevention and detection of crime, the apprehension of offenders, the preservation of law and order, the protection of life and property and the due enforcement of all laws and regulations with which they are directly charged, and shall perform such military duties within or outside Nigeria as may be required of them by, or under the authority of this or any other Act.’ In many jurisdictions of the world, the police are in charge of security of lives and properties and they deal with the civil populace in common matters of crime detection and investigation. The deployment of the armed forces would only occur in rare cases involving threat to national security, sovereignty or territorial integrity of the nation. The constant or permanent presence of soldiers on the streets of any country indicates a failure of its policing system.

In simple terms, section 33 (1) guarantees to every person the inalienable right to life when it states that ‘every person has a right to life, and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria.’ An underfunded, inefficient, ill-equipped and corrupt police system constitutes a grave threat to the security and lives of the people that it was established to protect and secure. Indeed, such valueless organisation erodes national development which cannot co-exist within a state held down by terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, armed robbers and other criminals.

In the peculiar circumstance of Nigeria, however, the police deserve some commendation if one takes into account the sacrifices of their men and officers, who buy their own kits, pay for virtually all their working tools and even take over the provision of infrastructure, such as buying generators to power their offices. Some of them who are fortunate to secure allocations in the barracks, which is defined to be ‘a housing characterised by extreme plainness or dreary uniformity’, or ‘a structure resembling a shed or barn that provides temporary housing’, have bitter tales to share. You can best imagine the state of the dwelling places of police officers that are expected to burst complicated crimes and crack very knotty cases. This may be why the police authorities will require a special task force to enforce the presidential directive on the withdrawal of policemen from private duties because some of them will surely prefer the life of private policing than the trauma of public service.

FUNDING FOR THE POLICE

In the case of Dada v State, we have the examples of brave police officers who defied the odds to track the accused person. They deployed the limited technology available for positive use in following all the leads that came their way, and they embraced community policing by working with the people to unravel the hidden mysteries of the dastardly criminals. In Dada v State, we have policemen who must have resisted the filthy lucre to compromise investigation. I have focused on the cases of Saheed v The People of Lagos and Dada v State to highlight the need to fund the police for greater effectiveness and to make the point that if properly funded and equipped, the Nigeria Police Force can perform their statutory roles creditably, like their counterparts in other jurisdictions. Permit me to share with you the facts of Dada v State.

REGULATING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

As shown in the case of Saheed v The People of Lagos that was reviewed in my previous articles on this point, Dada v State has brought to the fore an urgent and pressing need to regulate public transportation. Cases of ‘one chance’ by which criminally-minded persons deploy small buses and their private cars to perpetrate crime are very rampant. Commercial motorcycle riders, popularly known as Okada have become a menace, especially as instruments of crime. These motorcycles are used in night and daylight robberies, kidnapping, banditry and even terrorism. But the people have little or no choice but to patronise them in the absence of an organised public transportation regime. The absence of an effective data regime for this vital sector of our national life also poses great danger to the security of lives and properties of the citizens. But for the diligence of the police officers involved in the investigation of this case, the positive collaboration with the community and the efficient prosecution, the appellant would have gotten away with the crime.

THE FACTS OF THE CASE

The facts of this case as reported in (2025) 17 NWLR (Pt. 2014) 213 are that the appellant was accused of kidnapping an eight-year-old girl, Mercy Ogunseye. He was subsequently charged to court for the offence of kidnapping contrary to section 3 of the Anti-Kidnapping and Anti-Abduction Law of Ondo State, 2010. At the trial, PW3 (a commercial motorcycle rider) testified that he gave a commercial ride to the appellant and the victim on his motorcycle on the day of the incident at 4.30 pm. PW3 described how the victim was seated sandwiched between him and the appellant on the motorcycle during the ride. PW3 said he noted that the appellant’s right hand was deformed because he dipped his left hand into his right hand’s side pocket to retrieve his fare for the ride, and handed it over with his left hand. PW3 testified that the appellant was the only passenger he had that day with a deformed right hand.

Similarly, PW5 testified that he saw the appellant with the victim on PW3’s motorcycle at 5.00 pm. PW5 said he gave up his turn to ride with PW3 to enable PW3 to give the commercial ride to the appellant and the victim. He corroborated the evidence of PW3 that the victim sat sandwiched between PW3 and the victim on the motorcycle. He testified that before PW3 returned to give him a ride, he (PW5) had walked to his destination. PW5 said he is a relation of the father of the victim (PW2), that he knew PW1 (the mother of the victim), and also knew PW3 before the day of the incident. He said that when the victim was being searched for, he identified PW3 as the person who transported the appellant and the victim on the previous day and was also able to describe the appellant and his deformed right hand to PW1 and PW2.

The respondent also tendered the appellant’s confessional statements, but the appellant objected to its admissibility on the grounds that the Investigating Police Officer (PW4) induced him to make the statements by promising that he would help the appellant get off the hook if he confessed to the crime. After a trial-within-trial, the trial court ruled that the confessional statements were voluntarily made, and it admitted them in evidence. In its judgment, the trial court found the case against the appellant proved, convicted him of the offence of kidnapping contrary to and punishable under section 3 of the Anti-kidnapping and Abduction Law of Ondo State 2010, and sentenced him to death. The appellant appealed to the Court of Appeal, which affirmed the conviction of the appellant, but allowed the appeal in part on the sentence and, in its stead, imposed a sentence of life imprisonment. Still dissatisfied, the appellant appealed to the Supreme Court which dismissed the appeal.

THE JUDGMENT

The Three Ways of Proving Commission of Crime:

The three ways by which the prosecution can prove its case are: (a) Evidence of eyewitnesses; (b) The confessional statement of the accused person; (c) Circumstantial evidence. In the instant case, the evidence of PW3 fixed the appellant at the scene of the crime. The appellant did not challenge PW3’s description of his deformed right hand. There was no appeal against the identification of the appellant by the PW3 as a man with a deformed right hand. Similarly, the PW5 had seen the appellant with the victim on the motorcycle of PW3. PW5 knew PW1 and PW3 prior to the incident. And when the victim was being searched for, PW5 was able to identify PW3 as the commercial motorcycle rider who gave the appellant and the victim a ride the previous day. PW5 was also able to describe the appellant to PW1 and PW2 (the mother and the father of the victim).

Further, PW5 stated the sitting arrangement of the victim and the appellant on the motorcycle as testified by PW3. In addition, PW5 testified that he knew the victim and would recognise her anywhere. The evidence of PW3 and PW5 identified the appellant and fixed him in a close contact with the victim on the motorcycle at the scene of the crime and it is binding on the appellant. And there is no evidence on record that the victim has been seen dead or alive later. The direct evidence of the PW3 and PW5 clearly showed the appellant’s direct involvement with the missing victim. Their evidence corroborated the contents of the appellant’s confessional statements exhibit “G” series to the effect that he kidnapped the victim whom he handed over to the second accused person who was with some other persons unknown to him on a promise of being paid N150,000.

The Probative Value of Eye Witness Account:

An eyewitness account is the best evidence in criminal trials and carries much weight. The evidence of an eye witness in any criminal proceedings is considered the best evidence worthy of belief and deserving of probative value in favour of the party’s case. An eyewitness testimony is usually the finest evidence in a criminal trial. In the instant case, the evidence of the prosecution witnesses was not contradicted by the appellant or challenged; it was overwhelming, to say the least, contrary to the argument of the appellant that the conviction of the appellant ought not to stand outside the confessional statements of the appellant.

Just In! Horror as Nigerian soldiers escorting Brigade Commander in Yola shoot dead seven protesting women, many injured

In a chilling incident in Adamawa State, at least seven women have been shot dead by soldiers escorting the Brigade Commander, Amechi Agwu, of the 23 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Yola. 

This was after the troops reportedly opened fire on the group of protesters in Lamurde, SaharaReporters has learnt.

The tragic incident occurred Monday afternoon, at Rigange junction, deepening tensions already inflamed by a violent assault earlier in the day by suspected Chobo-speaking militia, who had launched coordinated attacks on multiple communities in Lamurde Local Government Area.

A respected community leader, struggling to hold back tears, told SaharaReporters that 12 women were shot, with seven dying instantly.

“Five others are battling for their lives at Numan General Hospital,” he said, his voice breaking as he recounted the chaos that followed the shooting.

According to multiple local sources, the women had gathered to protest what they described as the unforgivably late arrival of security forces, who, they said, only reached the affected villages hours after the attackers had finished their rampage and retreated unchallenged.

“The women were angry, frustrated, and tired of burying their own,” another source said. “They were demanding answers. Instead, what they got were bullets.”

SaharaReporters reached out to the spokesperson of the Nigerian Army, Lt. Col. Apollonia Anele, for comments on the incident. 

However, calls to her mobile line were not answered, and a text message sent to him seeking clarification on the shooting had also not received a response at the time of publishing this report.

Efforts to obtain the Army’s official position on the allegations remain ongoing, but as of press time, no reaction had been provided.

The Nigerian Army had not issued an official statement on the incident as of the time of filing this report. 

Sahara Reporters

Witness details how AMCON Chief allegedly used Arik Air’s ₦ 76 billion to launch new airline

A prosecution witness on Monday detailed how former Managing Director of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Ahmed Kuru, allegedly diverted ₦4.9 billion from the accounts of the now-defunct Arik Air to bankroll the creation of a new airline, NG Eagle, while still leading Nigeria’s bad-debt recovery agency.

Testifying before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Lagos Special Offences Court, EFCC investigative officer Bawa Usman Kaltungo said the alleged diversion was not only documented but supported by internal memos, bank transfers and corporate approvals recovered during the commission’s probe.

Kuru is standing trial alongside AMCON-appointed Receiver Manager Kamilu Alaba Omokide; former Arik CEO in receivership Captain Roy Ilegbodu; Union Bank Plc; and Super Bravo Limited. The defendants face a six-count charge covering conspiracy, stealing, diversion of assets and abuse of office involving an alleged ₦76 billion and $31.5 million fraud.

According to one of the charges, Union Bank is accused of inflating Arik Air’s loans to ₦71 billion, a move prosecutors say paved the way for AMCON’s takeover. Another count alleges that Kuru, Omokide and Ilegbodu diverted ₦4.9 billion from Arik’s accounts into NG Eagle in 2022.

Kaltungo told the court that Arik’s former Chief Financial Officer, Jonathan Sani, submitted a statement confirming that ₦4.5 billion was transferred directly to fund NG Eagle. He added that the new airline used Arik’s staff, equipment and financial assets.

“NG Eagle was incorporated while Kuru was still Managing Director of AMCON and Omokide was Receiver Manager. It was built on Arik’s money and resources,” he said.

The prosecution tendered several exhibits—including documents marked P17, P18, P25, P26, P44 and P45—and a flash drive containing footage of allegedly vandalised aircraft, played in open court.

During proceedings, defence counsel sought temporary release of Omokide and Ilegbodu’s international passports for renewal and medical travel. Justice Dada granted the request but ordered the passports returned by January 2, 2026, warning that no excuses would be tolerated.

The case was adjourned to January 2 and 3, 2026, for continuation of the trial.

While Kuru has long denied allegations of asset stripping during AMCON-supervised airline takeovers, Monday’s testimony represents one of the most direct insider accounts yet of how Arik Air’s resources were allegedly repurposed to build a parallel carrier.

The EFCC says more witnesses are expected to testify.

1...142143144...1,427Page 143 of 1,427

TIPS

Load more