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Intimate Affairs: Are women stronger in bed than men? By Funke Egbemode

It all started with an ambitious shopping list of a woman looking for a husband that my friend sent to me. The single and searching woman wanted a man who can cook, earns ten million naira monthly and is good in bed, of course. The lucky dude should be handsome, romantic and God-fearing. I responded to my friend that “It’s a legitimate list”. No, “it’s illegitimate”, he responded. How? He zeroed in on the “good in bed” part. He insisted that ‘good in bed’ is relative. I vehemently disagreed. If a man is not good in bed, he’s not good in bed. Even he will know. A good lover proudly flaunts his prowess. He does not leave his woman in doubt. A man once told me that the best way to shut the mouth of an angry woman is by thoroughly ravishing her.

‘Take her as many times as possible. Let her pant, sweat and run away from the bedroom. Do her well. I don’t understand men who say their wives are angry with them, keeping malice with them for weeks. If you are making love with her regularly, the matter will settle.’

Now, that’s a man who can give a good account of himself. If he’s not good in bed, how will Madam feel the heat? If a man is a once-in-a-while or monthly lover, how can he thoroughly ‘do’ his wife? So, I told my friend, the definition of ‘good in bed’ is clear. At least, if the man doesn’t know, his woman will know, and we are the one who grade men. My friend must have gotten a tiny bit angry.

‘Wetin? Shouldn’t a woman be good in bed too??? Note the three question marks. Mark of anger, I know.

Okay, both man and woman should be above average and meet each other halfway in bed.

‘We men labour too hard on you women’

Imagine! So women don’t labour hard under men?

That’s when he threw in the Apala Maestro, Ayinla Omowura’s line.

‘Pekele pekele, ise oru kii se ise kekere”

I laughed out loud. Translation: ‘The work that men do at night is a lot of work, it’s not child’s play’

Seriously, do men do all the work? No, it’s a partnership. It’s a joint venture. That’s what makes a ‘night shift’ sweet. Sure, in most cases, on many nights, men do the ‘heavy lifting’ but my friend insists that it is the hard work that shortens the life-span of men. In other words, sex kills men. Without saying it in so many words, my friend was saying. ‘Only men die during sex.’ Trust me, I fired back.

‘Women die in action too’

He retorted, ‘women die of excitement, not exhaustion’. See me see trouble, what’s the difference? Both excitement and exhaustion can wear out. Orgasms can make the heart fail and we all have hearts, right?

I must, however, reluctantly agree that more men die during and after sex than women. Maybe we are more careful and do not have sex to impress.

Men should really watch their bad habit of wanting to ‘go harder’ even when their bodies are balking. Why should a man die trying to impress a woman? Those who have been reading me know that I do not support men dying in active service. All smart men should serve diligently but leave the arena alive. That way they can serve some more. It is absolutely unwise to die on the pitch.

Think of it, if a man who is in the service of three to four women die in the bed of one of them, how fair is that? What becomes of the other parties? They all start looking for new investors? No, it’s not right.

But on a serious note, nobody should die having sex, man or woman. The reason why more men die in active service is because they do not listen to me. They do not listen to logic. The duties of a man outside the bedroom are already plenty. To fend for and defend a family is already a lot of work. The hours a man puts into their careers and businesses all day is enough to kill a horse. Add that to the number of things he has to worry about. The number of people waiting on him to fix their problems. His life after hours of work should be relaxing and pleasureable. It should not be about overreaching himself. It should not be about popping blue pills.

But who is listening to me or heeding this sane advice? Not the older men. No, they want to win sex championship. They want to impress their sweet sixteens. It is their way of convincing themselves that they are enjoying life. If you ask me, sex championship men confuse me just like the ones who drink wine or whiskey that is not sweet, beer that smells and looks like urine and everything that gives them pounding heads or hefty headache the following morning. I’ll never understand how all that mean enjoyment. Lagos people call it ‘Faaji’. How is pain pleasurable unless a few screw are loose or loosening in your head or mind?

Enough of the digression. Let’s leave the Faaji men to their enjoyment and their blue pills. I hear women are doing it too, mixing stuff, popping pills, drinking herbs to enjoy sex. What’s going on here? I also heard that it is not just to satisfy their husbands, that these women are doing sex till death. It is the thing about the ‘forbidden’ apple and dying in active service that we cannot ignore. Note, you rarely hear men dying on top of the women they married, the real owner of the equipment. Now the women are also titrating chemicals to satisfy men who are not their husbands. I hope we are all appropriately and adequately shocked.

Imagine this, a mother of five died somewhere in Ekiti after sex with her lover. The heartless bloke dragged her body into the bush and dumped her there. Another one died and was left to be discovered by a hotel cleaner.

Now, I’m not insisting that all sex-till-death are consequences of blue pills and sachet concoction. Indeed, I am more concerned with the carelessness and levity with which we all treat our health generally

As we get on in years, we all should reduce the number of times we go to battle. A wise warrior knows when to step back and acknowledge his humanity. No man is cut or designed to do the things he used to do at age 30; no, not at 65. If he tries it, he may end up at best in the intensive care unit. Chances that he will end up in the morgue is quite high.

As for my ladies, stop ‘falling my hand’ by letting a man, or worse still, a small boy, drive you to death. If you love a particular dish or meal, you do not and should not eat it all in one sitting. Eat slowly, neatly and nicely so you can eat for a long time. Don’t gulp it or you will choke and when you do, there will be no tomorrow.

My guys, my girls, make sure you are in good shape for physical exercise. Check your blood pressure, heart rate before you convince yourself that you are fit for sex. Don’t kill yourself trying to prove a foolish point to people who will turn around to mock you for expiring in a woman’s secret place.

Videos: Ahead of World Athletics Championship in Japan, world champion Tobi Amusan cries out over inferior kits provided by Nigeria

World record holder and reigning 100m hurdles champion, Tobi Amusan, has publicly condemned the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) for providing substandard and inadequate kits to athletes ahead of the World Athletics Championship scheduled to hold in Tokyo, Japan. 

In a video posted on Snapchat, Amusan, who is one of Nigeria’s biggest medal hopes, expressed her disappointment at the embarrassing treatment Nigerian athletes continue to face.

Speaking in English and pidgin, she said: “As it is now, I have to wear an adidas black tight. I go show you wetin Jamaica. When I tell you say Jamaica is in the same WhatsApp group with Nigeria, but dem no worse like Nigeria. Nigeria, all the other countries give their athletes two kits. See wetin Nigeria pack give us. This country (Nigeria) is really embarrassing.”

This is not the first time an athlete has spoken out about neglect by the Nigerian system.

Super Falcons defender, Ashleigh Plumptre, had also expressed concerns over the lack of basic facilities and support structures provided for the Nigerian women’s national team during the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations tournament held in Morocco. 

Speaking during an interview with Lagos Talks 91.3 FM posted via X, Plumptre lamented the absence of essential recovery amenities, such as a gym and pool, at the team’s accommodation throughout their stay in Casablanca, where the team played all their group stage matches, as well as the quarterfinal and semi-final fixtures.

“I think with some teams like England — obviously they’ve just won the Euros — the amount of investment and meticulous planning and structure and everything behind them is evident. It’s just like little things like the resources, what fields they’re training on, what their recovery is like,” she said. 

Plumptre said the lack of facilities left the players physically drained towards the end of the tournament.

“For me and for some of the other girls, we were tired towards the end because we were put in a hotel in Morocco that didn’t have a gym. Towards the end of the tournament, we were taken to a public gym to be able to use,” she revealed.

When asked whether the Nigerian Football Federation or the Moroccan authorities were responsible for the hotel arrangements, Plumptre said the players were uncertain.

“We actually don’t know… It’s CAF, organised by CAF, but I don’t know if it’s the Moroccan FA. Honestly, I’m not quite sure,” she said

Watch the video below.

See what the Americans received.

Wife of deceased American citizen kidnapped on her way to U.S. Visa interview in Abuja recounts ordeal, forced to pay $2,000 ransom

Mary Moore, a widow of an American citizen, was kidnapped on September 8, 2025, in Wuse Zone 3, Abuja, while preparing to travel to Lagos for a scheduled immigration visa interview with the United States consulate.

Moore noted the traumatic experience exclusively to SaharaReporters on Thursday. She had planned to board an Air Peace flight from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja to Murtala Muhammad Airport in Lagos on September 8 at 4:30 PM.

However, the flight was later rescheduled to 8:30 PM. Moore explained that she had travelled to Zone 3 to conduct a currency exchange, intending to convert around $2,000 in preparation for her trip and to have some cash for her stay in Lagos.

At approximately 5:30 PM, while attempting to call a Bolt taxi to take her to the airport, Moore’s phone network was poor due to bad weather.

‘Hypnotised With Chemical Substance By Kidnappers’

While waiting, she was approached by an unknown man who tapped her on the shoulder. Before she could react, another individual sprayed a chemical substance on her face, which left her disoriented and partially unconscious. She was then forced into a Toyota Sienna already carrying other victims.

Moore told SaharaReporters that the armed kidnappers whisked her away to various locations, including Keffi in Nasarawa, a neighbouring state to Abuja.

Moore told SaharaReporters that after losing her husband, she wanted to complete her visa process, so she went to Zone 3. She also planned to conduct some business in Lagos.

She said, “I went to Zone 3 to change money for the trip. I exchanged around $2,000, planning to get to the airport and change my clothes before boarding. I then started calling for boats to take me to the airport, but the network was bad. I decided to call my nephew instead.

“While I was on the phone with my nephew, someone passed by and hit me. Before I could react, another person threw a chemical substance on my face. I became unconscious and disoriented.

“While outside, trying to get a Bolt. Then a Sienna vehicle arrived, and I was taken inside. In the Sienna, there were other victims in the back, and I was last in the front seat. Before I realised it, I found myself in Keffi, in Nasarawa State. They sprayed more chemical on me. At that moment, I started seeing my period. One of them said it was ‘for the women’s industry’ and then restrained me.”

Meanwhile, during her captivity, the kidnappers believed she was American after discovering certain documents in her possession. She was immediately separated from the other victims and held under strict supervision.

“They opened my bag and found an item labelled ‘Property of the United States Government – Do Not Open.’ When they saw it, they assumed I was American. They told me they were going to collect dollars from me, but I denied being American,” she said.

“They returned my phone, so I called the agent who booked my ticket, Wumi, because she was the only person I knew. She informed my sister, and I asked her to inform my friend Deji as well.”

However, the kidnappers demanded a ransom, initially negotiating $2,000, the amount Moore had exchanged earlier that day.

She explained that she had no close relatives and only knew the travel agent who booked her ticket. Throughout the ordeal, Moore said the kidnappers subjected her to chemical sprays that left her hypnotised, and at times, she was completely unaware of her surroundings.

She recounted being forced to reveal the hidden cash she had in her bag, which temporarily appeased her captors.

“They gave me some dignity after I paid them what they demanded,” she said.

She was separated from other victims and reportedly treated less violently, with the kidnappers focusing their attention on the others.

Moore recounted being moved across towns, including Kubwa, where kidnappers withdrew funds using her cards. While her visa documents remained untouched, her belongings were stolen.

Moore also described the kidnappers’ sophisticated operations, noting that they frequently moved victims across state lines, from Keffi to Abuja, and that the ringleader operates from within the capital.

She stated, “They didn’t let me go near my phone again and sent messages to people on my contact list, demanding dollars. They then took me to a room, provided pads for me, and made me change. They demanded dollars, unaware that I had hidden some in my bag. I revealed the hidden dollars, and once they counted it, they calmed down.

“Later, before I knew it, I found myself in Kubwa. They were using chemicals, not any diabolical methods. They took me to a place to sleep and separated me from the others.

“They were beating the people I saw, but they didn’t touch me. They were really focused on those others,” she said.

“When I gave them the money, they became soft toward me. They took me somewhere to rest, and I slept there,” Moore told SaharaReporters.

According to Moore, “early the next morning, around 4 o’clock, someone came and brought me out”.

She narrated, “They put me in a car, and I realised they were taking me somewhere. I slept in the back of the car. It was a normal, very clean car.

“They took my bags and everything else, including my wig. But the bag that contained my visa documents was not touched.

“That was where I had placed the dollars I gave them. They returned the bag to me in my backpack, but everything else, like my bag, wig, and shoes, was taken.

“Then we arrived somewhere. I became more conscious and checked my phone. That’s when I realised it was being tracked, and I noticed that my iPhone was visible, which meant the police could see my location.

“I quickly sent my location to Wumi, the person who booked my ticket for me, not knowing they were tracking me.”

Kidnappers Take Moore To Their Ringleader in Abuja

She said, “I started hearing accents. I initially thought I was in Maraba because of the traffic and people talking, but before I knew it, I realised I was somewhere else, Kubwa.

“They took me to what they called their home. The man there started asking me questions. I was completely disoriented.”

Moore told SaharaReporters that the ringleader checked her documents and questioned his gang, saying she was not an American as they had claimed.

“He said I was just going for an interview. They then decided to take me outside because they didn’t want to hear that I was on my period,” she recounted.

She said, “Before I knew it, as they brought me out, they sprayed a chemical on my face, and I became disoriented. Later, I found myself elsewhere.

“I was still carrying my knapsack on my back with no shoes, looking like a mad person, when I came out.”

Kidnappers Gave Moore ₦30,000 As transport Fare.

Moore explained that they gave her N30,000 as a transport fare.

“At that place, I had N200,000 in my OPay account. The pad they bought for me, they asked someone to go and buy it.

“When I came out, I was disoriented. The man told me the pad cost N50,000. The person had bought it for me.

“He took me to a POS in Keffi, where we withdrew ₦50,000, which I handed over to him.

“He then said, ‘Okay, you have ₦150,000 left.”

When asked why she didn’t raise an alarm at that point, she replied, “I couldn’t. I didn’t know what I was doing.

“I felt hypnotised, like I was just following instructions without understanding.

“When I got to Kubwa, they withdrew the remaining N150,000 from my OPay account. They took me to another POS. I gave the card to the guy, and I told him to withdraw N150,000. They deducted N3,000 in charges, and the man collected the money.”

On Tuesday, September 9, 2025, Moore said her captors released her in Kubwa after she missed her US visa interview and gave her ₦30,000.

She said she reported the incident at Byazhin Police Station, where the DPO informed the FCT Anti-Kidnapping Squad.

When asked if the police, having located where she was taken, were able to apprehend the perpetrators, she told SaharaReporters that the police said they were still working on it.

Womanifesto condemns Senate’s continued exclusion of Natasha

A coalition of 281 women’s rights organisations under the aegis of Womanifesto and voices from across Nigeria, has condemned what it described as the unconstitutional and gendered exclusion of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from the Nigerian Senate.

In a statement signed by Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, Convener of Womanifesto, on behalf of the 281 civil society and non-governmental organisations, the movement warned that the Senate’s refusal to reinstate Akpoti-Uduaghan, despite a valid court ruling, amounts to a constitutional assault, a democratic crisis, and an attack on women’s political participation.

To this end, Womanifesto has called for the immediate and unconditional reinstatement of Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan in line with the court ruling; an end to what it described as spurious delay tactics that subvert the Constitution; respect for judicial authority as a cornerstone of democracy; and the protection of women’s political participation as a democratic right, not a privilege.

Read Also: Senator Natasha’s Suspension: This injustice should not be sustained

Among the 281 signatory organisations are ActionAid Nigeria, 9jafeminista, Baobab for Women’s Human Rights, Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), Dinidari Foundation, Echoes of Women in Africa Initiatives, Education as a Vaccine (EVA), Stand to End Rape (STER), Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ), and Yiaga Africa.

Read Also: Quo Vadis: Natasha v. The Senate: Individual v. Institution

Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended on March 6, 2025, in a move later described by Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court as “excessive” and unconstitutional. By September 9, 2025, the date set for her resumption, she had fully served the disputed suspension. Yet, the Senate leadership has continued to deny her re-entry, ignoring judicial directives.

“This brazen defiance of judicial authority is not just an institutional misstep; it is a dangerous constitutional overreach that erodes the very foundation of our democracy. When lawmakers become lawbreakers, democracy itself is imperilled,” the statement read.
Womanifesto argued that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s exclusion transcends an individual matter and instead strikes at the heart of democratic governance.

“This is about an entire constituency deprived of representation for over six months. It is about the Senate arrogating powers it does not have, mocking the judiciary, and weaponising the law to silence dissent,” Akiyode-Afolabi said.

For Nigerian women, the coalition stressed, the case is especially grave. “To deny Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan her constitutional mandate after a lawful election victory and a favourable court ruling is to send a chilling message to every woman who dares to seek or hold public office: your voice can be silenced at will,” the movement declared.

The coalition warned that failure to act would signal that Nigeria’s Senate is willing to destroy democracy for the sake of impunity. “Democracy dies when elected voices are silenced. Democracy dies when women are deliberately excluded. Democracy dies when courts are mocked, and the constitution treated as optional,” the statement added.

The movement further called on citizens, civil society, the media, and the international community to stand firm against the assault.
“Either the Senate rescinds this illegality and restores Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan to her rightful place, or it confirms itself as a body willing to trade democracy for impunity,” Womanifesto concluded.

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and her Lawyers are Guilty of Contributory Negligence for the Delay in her Resumption, If She and Her Lawyers had Applied Legisprudence and Parliamentary Diplomacy: Litigation is not the Best (Or Only) Solution (Lessons From Femi Falana SAN)

By Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja

THISDAY newspaper is one of Nigeria’s largest-selling national daily newspapers. It was established in the year 1994.

I feel honoured to be invited by the Law Column of THISDAY newspaper to provide a written opinion on this issue of whether or not Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan ought to resume after serving her six-month suspension.

My straightforward answer is that Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and her lawyers are the architects of the delay in her resumption.

In other words, apart from any blame that can be heaped upon the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, both Senator Natasha and her lawyers share a measure of blame.

In legal parlance, it is referred to as “contributory negligence”.

For example, yesterday being 11th September 2025, one of her lawyers (J. Numa, SAN) wrote a letter addressed to the Clerk To The National Assembly.

His letter was supposed to be a response to the letter dated 4th September 2025 and signed by the Acting Clerk To The National Assembly, Dr. Yahaya Dan-Zaria, Esq. wherein the said Acting Clerk had stated reasons why Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan could not resume immediately.

Both the tone and the content of the said letter betrays a lack of understanding of legisprudence, parliamentary diplomacy, display of simple good faith and professional courtesy that is prescribed by Rule 26 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, 2023.

The Acting Clerk to the National Assembly (Dr. Yahaya Dan-Zaria, Esq.) that signed the said letter dated 4th September 2025, is a very senior lawyer that was called to the Nigerian Bar even before the said J. Numa, SAN.

Amongst Nigerian lawyers, there is a culture of respect for seniors.

Paul Babatunde Daudu, SAN is one of the Nigerian lawyers that displays utmost respect for seniority at the Bar.

Even though he is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and a lawyer for the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, against whom my professional Association has filed two lawsuits, he took the initiative to phone me and respectfully made his submissions.

We have maintained a mutually respectfully professional relationship even though we still hold on to different positions on the on-going issues involving the resumption of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

In fact, I was deeply appreciative of his humility when he admitted that legislative law is not his area of core expertise in law and he humbly requested for legal materials and resources which I sent across to him electronically.

One would have expected that J. Numa, SAN to have arranged a meeting with the Acting Clerk to the National Assembly, Dr. Yahaya Dan-Zaria, Esq. as the person that signed the said letter dated 4th September 2025.

The purpose of such a meeting would be for the lawyer to Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to gain insights into the remote, underlying reasons behind the said letter. Most of these reasons are usually not captured inside contains of formal letters.

And the benefits of such face-to-face meetings are priceless because they provide invaluable ammunition with which any litigation lawyer can utilise later in court.

In fact, the litigation lawyer can cite such pre-litigation meetings to win the sympathy of the judge later on, as as evidence that he explored and exhausted amicable methods of resolution before embarking upon litigation as a last resort.

Such pre-litigation meeting is also important when any lawyer is dealing with an area of legal practice that the said litigation lawyer is not familiar with.

Legislative law or the law that deals with legislation, legislators and legislatures is a still a new and emerging area of legal practice considering that it was only in the year 1999 that legislatures were allowed to operate after decades of military rule in Nigeria.

Dr. Yahaya Dan-Zaria, Esq. (currently the Clerk to the House of Representatives, National Assembly) who has been a staff of the National Assembly since the year 1994, can be regarded as an authority on legislative law.

This is because he has garnered years of experience as a legislative lawyer through a combination of practical hands-on experience in dealing with legislators and attendance of training in legislative drafting in the United States of America (USA) and other foreign jurisdictions.

J. Numa, SAN, lawyer for Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan missed a golden opportunity to learn about legisprudence (the art and science of legislative law) and parliamentary diplomacy from one of the living legends of Nigerian jurisprudence.

From personal experience, I myself have drawn from the wealth of experience of Dr. Yahaya Dan-Zaria within the eleven (11) years that I worked as a staff of the National Assembly’s Institute for Legislative Studies from 2013 to 2024.

For example, even before his appointment as Clerk to the House of Representatives, National Assembly, Dr. Yahaya Dan-Zaria, Esq. gave me invaluable legal advice not to use litigation as a method to collect a debt of over ₦10,000,000 that I was owed by the leadership of the 9th House of Representatives for the law books that they commissioned me to write and supply.

That advise proved invaluable because it ensured that I have maintained a cordial working relationship with the leadership of the 10th House of Representatives.

The cordial working relationship with the leadership of the 10th House of Representatives has paid in more ways than I can enumerate. Provision of continuing professional development (CPD) training on legislative drafting for staff and other legal services that lawyer-client privilege would not allow to write about.

To conclude, since the year 2015, I came under the part-time pupillage of Femi Falana SAN and I have learned that a successful lawyer does not apply litigation as the be-all-and-end-all tool of his or her trade or profession.

Femi Falana SAN has won many highly complicated cases without filing a single pre-litigation letter or brief of argument inside any court of law.

Even though Femi Falana SAN does not hold a Master of Laws (LLM) degree in legislative drafting, he was able to engage the leadership of the 9th National Assembly to secure the amendment of a piece of legislation that helped the then Nigerian government to recoup over $62,000,000 in unpaid royalties by international oil companies operating within Nigeria.

He achieved this by holding pre-litigation meetings with the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, National Assembly and Senator Theodore Kalu.

I was involved as the legislative drafting lawyer who drafted the Bill for the amendment of the Deep Offshore Production Sharing Contract Act, 2000.

I have said enough. On this note, I rest my case.

Yours faithfully,
Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja,
12th September 2025.

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

NBA Nyanya-Karu to sue NSCDC over harassment, arrest and detention of Nnamdi Mbah, Esq.

Press Statement

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Nyanya-Karu Branch, has resolved to take legal action against the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) following the unlawful harassment, arrest, and detention of one of its prominent members, Barrister Nnamdi Mbah.

On 9th September 2025, Barrister Mbah was supervising a property he manages at Aco Estate, Lugbe, Abuja, when he was violently harassed, abducted, and detained by officers of the NSCDC, Sauka Headquarters. Disturbingly, he was held in lieu of a property dispute involving a senior NSCDC officer who had allegedly paid money to an estate agent that subsequently absconded. Instead of pursuing the agent, the officer abused his office to unlawfully arrest and detain Barrister Mbah.

Despite repeated demands by the NBA Nyanya-Karu Branch Leaders, no written complaint was ever presented against Barrister Mbah to justify his arrest and detention. No complainant came forward, and the officers involved consistently refused to identify themselves. The investigating officer only identified himself as “Mark” and declined to disclose his full name.

Barrister Mbah was unlawfully detained from the afternoon of 9th September until 5 pm on 10th September 2025, when he was released on bail after the intervention of the Branch leadership.

The Nyanya-Karu Branch of the NBA views this as a grave assault not only on the rights of Barrister Mbah but also on the legal profession and the rule of law. The Branch has therefore resolved to:

  1. File a Fundamental Rights Enforcement action against the NSCDC and the officers involved.
  2. Submit a strong petition to the Commandant General of the NSCDC and the Honourable Minister of Interior over the unprofessional and unlawful actions of its officers.

The NBA Nyanya-Karu Branch reiterates that it will not tolerate the harassment, intimidation, or unlawful detention of lawyers by security agencies under any guise.

The actions of the NSCDC officers in harassing, arresting, and detaining Barrister Mbah is a dangerous abuse of power and the Branch is determined to bring everyone involved to Justice.

E-Signed

Alexander Ebi Edim Esq
Chairman.

Mazi Echika Ejido
Secretary

Dated this 11th day of September, 2025

How Nigeria’s internet data practices rob consumers

By Folarin Aluko

Nigeria’s digital economy rests on a troubling paradox. Every month, more than 150 million Nigerians are either dispossessed of property or forced to spend more to retain it. According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nigerians spend over ₦6 trillion each year on telecom services, making the sector one of the country’s biggest GDP contributors.

Yet Internet Service Providers allow only a short window for rolling over unused data, after which it is erased. This predatory business model is a sunk-cost trap, where value already purchased disappears unless consumers buy more or rush to exhaust what is left. Internet data, which by law and logic belongs to the consumer, is treated as if it were on loan from the operator.

Data appropriation is more than a minor inconvenience. The internet is today’s civic square: students attend lectures, traders run shops, workers meet clients, and citizens interact with government online. Access is no longer optional; it is the passport to social, economic, and democratic participation.

Without data, our lives would grind to a slow and painful crawl because it supports the entire infrastructure of modern life. When a leading network went down nationwide in March 2024, ATMs stalled, mobile transfers failed, schools and businesses could not process sales and government agencies could not function for hours, showing just how quickly the economy seizes up when data access is interrupted.

Nigerians did not arrive here by choice. Like sheep to the slaughter, Nigerians were forced into a digital economy through the ill-advised policies of previous Administrations. This enabled the same Government to tax digital payments while ignoring service quality and contract fairness.

Meanwhile, the same Government imposes steep filing fees and levies on Operators who then quietly pass the cost on to Subscribers. The result is a population overtaxed, overcharged, and routinely stripped of purchased value. This is achieved through a contractual apparatus that dispossess an unwilling and unknowing public of their property.

Contracts without Consent

Some would argue that there is no basis for complaint: “You agreed to the terms. The service provider’s conditions to use or roll over data are clearly printed”. By that logic, a subscriber who loses unused data has only themselves to blame.

The above argument is a straw man, as it assumes a level playing field and a genuine consensus ad idem (a meeting of the minds) which does not exist in the modern telecommunications market.

Nigeria’s telecoms market is built on layers of Contracts of Adhesion between Service Providers and Consumers. An Adhesion contract is a contract drafted entirely by a Service Provider and imposed on Consumers with no room for negotiation.

Where the Party that controls access to an essential service gets to write the terms of the contract and offers no opportunity for negotiation to the other party, what you have is not a contract, but a dictatorship. With regards to Internet Data, these one-sided terms define how long purchased data remains valid, allowing operators to delete unused data.

Adhesion contracts make mass-market transactions possible; from airline tickets, mobile apps, insurance policies, to countless other services; we rely on them out of commercial efficiency. But when these contracts govern essential services such as electricity, health care, education, or internet access, they raise serious concerns because Consumers cannot realistically walk away without excluding themselves from society’s economic and civic life. The imbalance of bargaining power is obvious: one side sets the terms; the other must accept or forfeit access.

Regulators worldwide have an obligation to intervene to balance the equities, ensuring that standard terms for necessary services do not strip people of rights or property.

On their part, the Courts have refused to uphold conditions in Adhesion Contracts that offend public policy or exploit unequal bargaining power. From Post v. Jones (1857) to Campbell Soup Co. v. Wentz (1948), judges have declined to enforce contracts “so one-sided that no honest and fair person would accept them.”

Where access to the internet has become the new marketplace and civic square, an Internet Data agreement that allows Service Providers to erase value already purchased is not merely a matter of private contract; it is a question of public interest. Adhesion contracts in the telecom sector must be shaped by both Regulators and courts to protect citizens from one-sided bargains.

Data is Property

The law divides Property into two broad classes: Tangible and Intangible. Tangible property can be perceived by the senses in a physical way. This includes land, cars, livestock, equipment, machinery, etc. Intangible property, on the other hand, does not have a physical form but carries clear economic value. Common examples of this include Intellectual Property, Digital Currency, Goodwill, Electricity Tokens, Shares, etc.

A Data Subscription Contract has two elements: the data purchased and the period of access to use it. The Consumer pays for a definite quantity of data, the intangible asset, and also for the right to connect within a set window. As with electricity tokens or airtime credit, the Intangible Asset remains the Customer’s even if access lapses.

What happens in Nigeria, however, is different. Service Providers do not merely end access after the paid period; they also erase unused data. Imagine a bank appropriating money in an account because the Account Holder didn’t transact in 30 days; or a power Distribution Company voiding electricity tokens that had already been issued but not yet consumed. Those practices would be condemned because only access should expire, not ownership. Data, which powers education, commerce, and civic life, is no less vital.

Adhesion contracts should never be read to divest Consumers of their property. Section 44 of the Nigerian Constitution and Article 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights forbid the compulsory acquisition of property by any person including the Federal or State Government, without compensation. If Government cannot seize assets without due process, private Service Providers have no license to delete purchased data.

This practice also undermines Nigeria’s obligations under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. SDG 9 on Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, calls for resilient infrastructure and sustainable technology. How can infrastructure be “sustainable” if value disappears at the whim of providers?

Similarly, SDG 10 on Reduced Inequalities seeks to narrow social gaps, yet these Data expiry conditions are not only predatory, they also penalize low-income users who ration data across weeks. A rule that wipes out their property while sparing heavy users is unjust by design.

Regulatory Failure

This injustice endures because regulation has failed. The Nigerian Communications Commission’s duty under Section 4 of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, which mandates safeguarding consumer interests, is undermined when expiry clauses erase value customers have already bought. The NCC cannot continue its preoccupation with revenue generation at the expense of service quality and fair terms for consumers.

A Regulator’s role is to keep markets open, protect the public interest, and set clear rules that promote competition and innovation. Yet the NCC fixes price floors and ceilings for data and voice services, an approach more suited to a 1970s command economy than to Nigeria’s fast-moving digital sector in 2025. Price-fixing blunts competition, shields inefficient operators, and prevents price reductions that a healthy market would deliver. Instead of letting rivals compete on value and quality, the NCC cages them inside rates it prescribes.

At the same time, the Commission imposes steep licence and regulatory fees, treating them as a revenue source for government. Operators quietly shift these costs onto subscribers as higher tariffs or hidden charges. Consumers pay more even as service quality stalls. High regulatory fees operate like a tax, and when combined with VAT and other levies they create multiple taxation, leaving subscribers squeezed from every direction.

The results are visible. As of June 2025, Broadband Penetration (fixed and mobile combined) was only 48.78%, far below the NCC’s stated goal of 70%. Millions remain unconnected or underserved, and those who are online face high prices and contracts that erode value.

When a regulator distorts prices, tolerates confiscatory terms, and taxes the very users it should protect, it undermines the digital economy it is meant to grow. Unless the NCC re-centers its mandate on Market Efficiency and Consumer Protection, Nigeria’s data regime will continue to reward rent-seeking at the expense of access, fairness, and innovation.

The International Contrast

In other jurisdictions, Regulators are acting swiftly to protect users. In 2018, South Africa’s Independent Communications Authority (ICASA) amended its End-User and Subscriber Service Charter after sustained consumer pressure. The rules required data rollover, mandated usage-depletion alerts, and barred providers from billing at out-of-bundle rates without the customer’s consent.

Courts elsewhere have stepped in to review adhesion contracts and scrutinize one-sided terms. In LIC of India v. Consumer Education & Research Centre, the Supreme Court of India held that adhesion contracts must be subject to “reasonable, just and fair” conditions accessible to all segments of society, in line with constitutional guarantees of equality. In that case, the Court upheld the right of all citizens of India to the equal protection of law, under Article 14 of the Constitution of India.

Nigeria presents a sharp contrast. The NCC permits service providers to impose expiry policies, yet offers little protection when purchased value disappears. For millions, the grievance is not only financial loss but the erosion of dignity in a market where regulators decline to defend the public interest.

Conclusion

The consequences are plain: students, traders, and everyday users scramble to renew bundles simply to protect what they have already bought. Expiration policies deepen inequality: wealthier Nigerians barely notice, while the poor lose most.

We cannot celebrate technological growth or speak of digital rights while millions living below the poverty line are stripped of the value they have paid for. It is time to end data appropriation. Regulators should mandate rollover, courts should strike down unfair expiry clauses, and service providers should compete on service, not on erasing value. Nigerians deserve to keep what they pay for.

Folarin Aluko is a Legal Practitioner and Digital Rights Advocate. He is a partner in the firm of Trumann Rockwood Solicitors and can be reached at [email protected]

Tribunal hears how senior doctor abandoned patient in the middle of surgery to have sex with a nurse

A senior doctor left a patient on an operating table in the middle of surgery to have sex with a nurse in an adjoining theatre, a medical tribunal heard today.

44-year-old Dr Suhail Anjum, a consultant anaesthetist and the unnamed nurse were caught in a “compromising position” by a “shocked” colleague at Tameside Hospital in Greater Manchester.

The incident, which took place at Tameside General Hospital in September 2023, came to light during a fitness to practise hearing after Dr Anjum, who had been living in Pakistan, applied to work in the UK again.

He did not dispute the evidence presented against him by the General Medical Council (GMC) during the hearing in Manchester and acknowledged that his behaviour had been “shameful”.

The consultant anaesthetist had said he needed a “comfort break” and asked another nursing colleague to monitor the male patient halfway through the procedure.

Instead, Dr Anjum went to another operating theatre at the hospital in Ashton-under-Lyne, where he had sex with a woman referred to in the hearing as Nurse C.

Andrew Molloy, representing the GMC, said the nurse who walked in on the pair had been “shocked and quickly walked through the theatre to the exit doors”.

Dr Anjum, who was gone for about eight minutes, came back into the theatre and completed his work.

Mr Molloy added: “It is right to say that no harm came to the patient when Dr Anjum was absent from the theatre and the procedure went on without further incident.”

He said the nurse who discovered them went on to report the matter to her line manager.

Before the case was opened by the GMC, Dr Anjum said he did not dispute the facts of the case and admitted engaging in sexual activity with Nurse C.

‘Potential risk’

He said he knew she was “likely to be nearby” when he left his patient.

He also admitted his actions had the potential to put his patient at risk.

Dr Anjum told the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service he wanted to resume his career in the UK and promised there would never be a repeat of a “one-off error of judgment”.

Giving evidence, Dr Anjum said: “It was quite shameful, to say the least. I only have myself to blame.”

He said he had let his colleagues and the NHS trust down.

He added: “I offer my sincere apologies to everyone involved, and I want the opportunity to put this right.”

The doctor added that the incident happened after a “stressful time” for his family, when he and his wife were failing “to connect as a couple” following the premature birth of his daughter.

The hearing was set to continue.

Credit: Daily Mail /BBC

South Africa’s top court says men can take wives’ last name, says women taking men’s names a ‘colonial import’

  • Did you Kofo Abayomi was a Nigerian man who changed his name to marry a widow in 1930?

South Africa‘s Constitutional Court has ruled that husbands can take their wives’ family name, overturning a law that banned them from doing so.

Thursday’s decision upheld a ruling made last year by a lower court, with Justice Loena Theron saying the existing law discriminated “on the grounds of gender” and was a “colonial import.”

The law, which only allows a woman to change her family name when her marital status changes, was introduced during the apartheid years of white-minority rule.

The court suspended the current legislation and gave the government two years to amend the Births and Deaths Registration Act.

The case was brought by two couples who sued the Department of Home Affairs for gender discrimination.

One couple wanted both to have their family names hyphenated, while a second couple wanted the husband to take his wife’s family name.

Court says women taking men’s names a ‘colonial import’

The current legislation infringes on the right to equality enshrined in South Africa’s constitution, introduced in 1994 after the end of apartheid, the court found.

The Constitutional Court ruling noted that “in many African cultures, women retained their birth names after marriage, and children often took their mother’s clan name.”

“With the arrival of the European colonisers and Christian missionaries, and the imposition of Western values, the tradition of women taking their husband’s surname was introduced,” it said.

Social media in an uproar over the ruling

The Constitutional Court decision was met with mixed reactions and often heated comments on social media.

Some welcomed it as a progressive step for South Africa, while many other, mainly male, users slammed it as going against the country’s culture and tradition.

“Why are men panicking in the comments, the ruling isn’t enforcing that you take the wife’s surname, it is optional? Calm down wow,” one South African woman wrote on X. 

Kofo Abayomi: The Nigerian who changed his name just to marry a widow in 1930

In Colonial Lagos, Lady Oyinkan Ajasa (Lady Oyinkan Abayomi) was born daughter of Sir Kitoye Ajasa, a Yoruba aristocrat who was the first Nigerian to be knighted by the British, and Lucretia Olayinka Moore, a princess of the Egba royal family, in Lagos, was born on March 6, 1897.

Lady Oyinkan Abayomi arrives at a social function in Lagos with her husband, Dr Kofo Abayomi

She was schooled at the Anglican Girls’ Seminary in Lagos and graduated in 1909. From there to the Young Ladies Academy at Ryford Hall, Gloucestershire. In 1917, she attended the Royal Academy of Music in London. She moved back to Lagos in 1920 and became a music teacher at the Anglican Girls’ Seminary.

It was during this time that she met a lawyer named Mr Moronfolu Abayomi ( the love of her life ), whom she married in 1923.

He was assassinated two months later in court, she was devastated and didn’t want to marry anyone ever again.

Dr Kofo John wanted to marry her, and her response was, “You have to change your name to my late husband’s name – Abayomi.” Guess what happened?

He agreed, married her and changed his name to Dr Kofo Abayomi. The very famous Dr Kofo Abayomi

Separated conjoined twins Hassana, Hussaina arrive Kano after surgery in Saudi Arabia

Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf (left), and the Consul-General of Saudi Arabia in Kano, Khalil Ahmed Al-Admawi, carrying separated conjoined twins, Hassana and Hussaina, on their arrival at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport… on Friday, September 12, 2025. Photo: Tukur Muntari

The governor of Kano state, Abba Yusuf, on Friday received the Nigerian conjoined twins, Hassana and Hussaina, who returned to the country after undergoing a successful separation surgery in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The twins, who arrived at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport with their family, were welcomed to a warm reception by government officials, community members, and representatives of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The life-saving operation was carried out at the King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital in Riyadh under the directives of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Hassana and Hussaina had been flown to Saudi Arabia in October 2023, where a team of 38 specialists, including pediatric surgeons, neurosurgeons, and plastic surgeons, performed the delicate procedure that lasted about 14 hours and was completed in nine stages.

Doctors discovered that the twins were joined at the lower abdomen, pelvis, and spine, sharing vital structures that made the case particularly complex.

After careful planning, a multi-disciplinary team of 38 consultants and specialists, including experts in pediatric surgery, neurosurgery, orthopaedics, urology, anaesthesia, and plastic surgery, embarked on the delicate procedure.

Speaking at the airport, Yusuf expressed gratitude to the Saudi authorities for sponsoring the surgery and pledged that the state government would take responsibility for the girls’ welfare, including their education up to the university level.

The Consular General of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Kano, Khalil Ahmed Al-Admawi, who was present at the airport to welcome the family, described the success of the surgery as a demonstration of the Kingdom’s commitment to humanitarian service.

“Saudi Arabia would continue to extend medical assistance and goodwill to countries in need through King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre, especially Nigeria with which it shares historic ties,” he said.

He said the separation of Hassana and Husaina marks the 65th successful operation under the Saudi Siamese Twins Separation Program, which has provided care for 150 sets of conjoined twins from 25 countries over the past 35 years.

The program has become one of the most prominent medical humanitarian initiatives globally, showcasing Saudi Arabia’s expertise in pediatric surgery and its dedication to supporting vulnerable families.

TIPS