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Democracy in Africa and the dangers of a Judicial Selectorate

By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

In March 2006, Uganda’s Supreme Court convened to begin adjudication of the disputes over the presidential election that occurred the previous month in the country. Voting took place on 23 February. Two days later, on 25 February, the Electoral Commission announced the results giving the incumbent, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, 59.28% of the valid votes cast. In second place, with an award of 37.36% of the votes, the Commission announced Kiiza Besigye, a medical doctor whose military career began as part of the bush war that brought Museveni to power 20 years earlier in 1986.

In his petition against the announced result, Col. Besigye argued that the Electoral Commission did not validly declare the results in accordance with the Constitution, and the Presidential Elections Act; and that the election was conducted in contravention of the provisions of both. His evidence was compelling.

Yet, the impression that the petition process was a ritual performance with a predetermined outcome pervaded the process. Leading the legal team for the Electoral Commission of Uganda who were defendants in the petition was Lucian Tibaruha, Solicitor-General of Uganda. In reality, he also led the lawyers for the president, also a defendant alongside the Electoral Commission. Handling election petitions for a party political candidate was not supposed to be part of Lucian’s job, but there he was.

Presiding was Bejamin Josses Odoki, Chief Justice of Uganda since 2001 and the author of the 1995 Constitution that incrementally made Museveni a life president. Idi Amin, Uganda’s infamous military dictator, elevated Odoki to the bench as a 35 year old in 1978. Amin’s nemesis, Museveni, elevated him to the Supreme Court eight years later and made him Chief Justice in 2001.

Announcing its reasoned judgment in January 2007, the court found that there had been non-compliance with the Constitution of Uganda and the applicable laws in the form of “disenfranchisement of voters by deleting their names from the voters register or denying them the right to vote” as well as “in the counting and tallying of results.”

The Court equally found as a fact that the “principle of free and fair elections was compromised by bribery and intimidation or violence in some areas of the country” and also that “the principles of equal suffrage, transparency of the vote, and secrecy of the ballot were undermined by multiple voting, and vote stuffing in some areas.”

Despite these findings, Chief Justice Odoki and his court ruled by a majority of four votes to three of Justices of the Supreme Court of Uganda to uphold the election and grant President Museveni another five years in power. Two years after this decision, in 2009, when the Chief Justice’s son, Phillip Odoki, wedded, Museveni’s son, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba was the best man

In 2010, it emerged that Chief Justice Odoki never harboured any doubts about the outcome. Questioned about the role of judges in deciding elections in Africa, Odoki, “smiled when commenting that to nullify a presidential election would be suicidal.” He lived to see his peers in Kenya and Malawi do just that in 2017 and 2020 respectively. It proved not to be suicidal.

According to former law teacher, Olu Adediran, the role of judges in these kinds of cases is in reality “a compromise between law and political expediency.” Jude Murison is more direct in calling it “judicial politics.” Judges are not instruments of change or revolution and when they are called upon to adjudicate between sides in a political dispute, they are more often than not likely to treat that not as an opportunity to change political paymasters except when the bell has already tolled undisputedly for an incumbent.

Politicians are supposed to sell themselves to the people through their programmes and through campaigns in a contest of both ideas and vision. In return, the people through their votes offer endorsement to the politicians and programmes whom they believe best advance their interests. An electoral commission is a referee supposedly engaged and maintained at the public expense to administer this contest.

This is where things begin to break down. Although engaged in the name of the people, every electoral commission is appointed by people in power who never wish to relinquish it. When a dispute emerges as to the kind of job done by the electoral commission, it ends up before judges. However, the same people who appoint the electoral commission also usually appoint the most senior judges into office. In the maelstrom of party political competition, guardrails break down as politicians struggle to casualise the popular electorate in order to prosper a judicial selectorate. 

The more election disputes end up in court, the more it becomes evident to politicians that it is easier to make deals with the judges. The people are and can be unpredictable, unlike most judges. Increasingly, therefore, politicians seek to judicialize the site of decision-making on elections, relocating that from the polling booth to the courtroom.

If a politician can get their spouse appointed to become a judge, they can even make the site of decision-making in elections more intimate, relocating it from the courtroom to the bedroom.

Instead of the usual soapbox, increasingly elections in many countries can be decided by good old pillow-talk. Former federal legislator, Adamu Bulkachuwa, whose wife, Zainab, headed Nigeria’s Court of Appeal for six years until 2020, published the manual on this model of electoral ascendancy in his parliamentary valedictory remarks as a senator in June 2023.

This is why the judicialization of politics in Africa increasingly represents a huge risk to the popular will as the basis of government. First, it vitiates the right to democratic participation and suppresses the popular will as the foundation for democratic legitimacy. Second, it enables the courts to deprive the people of their democratic rights, accomplishing that under the alluring pretence of rule of law. Third, it provides perverse incentives for politicians to capture the courts, making the judiciary in many African countries a battleground for the pre-determination of election outcomes. Fourth, it has the capacity to alter the character of the judiciary from an independent institution to a plaything of political insiders.

This trend in consigning elections to the care of a judicial selectorate around Africa now endangers judges and their independence. In Malawi, in 2020, the president attempted to remove the Chief Justice in order to secure a Supreme Court panel more solicitous of his interests in the lead-up to a presidential re-run, following a rigged electoral contest that had been struck down by the courts.

The following year in September 2021, the ruling party in Zimbabwe pressured the Constitutional Court to overrule an earlier decision of the High Court that blocked an extension of the tenure of the Chief Justice after he had reached the official retirement age. This allowed the Chief Justice to still serve, but on a contract that made him more subject to presidential whim. Ahead of contentious national elections two years later, the same president decided to advance $400,000 to all serving judges in Zimbabwe in “housing loan” with no repayment obligations. One of the beneficiaries was the chair of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), herself a serving judge. Unsurprisingly, she announced her benefactor, the incumbent president, as winner in the ensuing election.

Even worse, this trend now also endangers entire countries, if not indeed regions. This was evident in April 2020, when Mali’s Constitutional Court overturned the results of 31 parliamentary seats won by the opposition. Its decision to hand these seats over to the ruling party sparked an uprising that led first to the dissolution of the Constitutional Court, and later the overthrow of the government in a military coup.

Mali’s twin crises of governmental legitimacy and state fragmentation is a tragic reminder of the dangers of judicial overreach in election adjudication. But the crisis in Mali has also become a regional crisis for West Africa. To adapt an expression familiar to new-age Pentecostals in West Africa: what judges cannot do does not exist.

A lawyer and a teacher, Odinkalu can be reached at [email protected]

The evasive funding channels sustaining Boko Haram/ISWAP in Nigeria

By Aliyu Dahiru 

Beneath the violence that has come to define the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) lies a highly organised financial ecosystem sustaining their operations. Fuelled by a complex blend of taxation, extortion, smuggling, and ideological justification, the groups have transformed parts of northeastern Nigeria into a conflict-driven economy.

For over a decade, terrorists have waged war against Nigeria and its neighbouring countries, displacing millions and wreaking havoc on communities. They took control of some civilian communities, collecting taxes, enforcing laws, and offering basic welfare, particularly within their strongholds around Lake Chad.

In recent times, HumAngle has uncovered how these groups have moved beyond the conventional tactics of ransom collection and taxation. They are now tapping into the dark web to generate revenue, exploiting the anonymity of cryptocurrencies to evade traditional financial surveillance. This marks a strategic shift by Islamic State affiliates, especially as the core group struggles with diminished income following its territorial losses in Iraq and Syria.

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The blood profits of Nigerian banks, By Michael Owhoko

The astronomical rise in banks’ profits, as reflected in the 2024 full year financial report, has exposed the banking industry as a lucrative enterprise powered by arbitrary charges imposed on unwilling customers. In some cases, these inexplicable charges and other unholy electronic deductions leave customers to reel on the throes of pains, with an impact on their blood.

That the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been penalizing the banks for flouting stipulated guidelines as contained in its “Guide to Charges by Banks, Other Financial, and Non-bank Financial Institutions”, is a confirmation that these banks deliberately use arbitrary and excessive charges to fleece customers, obviously to boost profitability. Since these painful charges constitute part of the big profits made by banks at the expense of customers, they are likened to blood profits. Like blood money, which is obtained at the expense of another’s man’s life, blood profits are earnings gained by banks at the cost of customers’ blood.

In context, blood here refers to the sweat, sacrifice, pains, frustration, and helplessness customers go through when deductions veiled in hidden and arbitrary charges are made on their accounts. In other words, bank earnings are tantamount to blood profits when viewed against the backdrop of resultant pains suffered by helpless customers who bear the brunt of arbitrary charges.

These charges are embedded in crazy debits alerts sent through SMS notifications and emails, and sometimes, they are delivered incoherently, in arrears or at odd hours, perhaps, to shield or distract customers from scrutinizing the alerts. Besides causing general body imbalance, the charges also trigger mood swings and countenance upset among customers, once received.

Some of these crazy charges include, but not limited to commission on turnover, withdrawal fees, transfer charges, electronic money transfer, processing fees, VAT charges, ATM fees, debit or credit cards issuance, replacement or renewal fees, account maintenance fees, NIP transfer charges, SMS alert charges, stamp duty fees, interest charges, SMS VAT charges, hardware token charges, cybersecurity levy, bills payment fees, and other random levies.

Besides, the CBN’s recent introduction of on-site and off-site charges during cash withdrawals at ATM machines, is also unhelpful and inimical to current plight of bank customers, who are now compelled to pay withdrawal fees for use of ATM machines owned by banks other than theirs. But where such transactions are carried out in customers’ own banks, such transactions attract no charges. This introduction is coming on the heels of a fresh increase of SMS alerts charges from N4 to N6 per transaction, further compounding the woes of customers.

Implicitly, these charges constitute a huge burden on the average bank customer who contends daily with depletion in his or her account balances. Corporate customers or businesses are also not spared from these questionable charges that have become a drain on the balance sheet of companies.

With about 312 million active accounts bank-wide as at December 2024, these irrational charges have contributed immensely to the bottom line, occupying a larger space in the profit basket of banks, dislodging loans and foreign exchange sources of profits, which have diminished overtime by high-interest rate regime and prevailing foreign exchange dynamics.

For example, from the 2024 financial year report of just five of the tier 1 banks, the profit growth rose enormously with pre-tax profit hitting N4.56 trillion, approximately 69.5 percent increase compared to N2.69 trillion declared in 2023, while their net profit after tax rose by 66.2 percent in 2024, amounting to N3.78 trillion, as against N2.27 trillion recorded in 2023.

These five tier 1 banks, whose total combined assets in 2024 reached N108.21 trillion, from just N72.80 trillion recorded in 2023, include First Holdco Plc, GTCO Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, UBA Plc, and Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc.

Specifically, First Holdco grew its profit before tax to N862.39 billion in 2024 from N356.15 recorded in 2023, just as its profit after tax rose to N736.7 billion in 2024 from N308.4 billion it earned in 2023. GTCO on the other hand, grew its pre-tax profit from N609.3 billion in 2023 to N1.27 trillion in 2024, with its net profit rising to N1.02 trillion in 2024 from N529.66 billion made in 2023.

Also, Zenith Bank grew its profit before tax to N1.33 trillion in 2024 from N795.96 billion recorded in 2023, just as its profit after tax rose from N676.9 billion in 2023 to N1.03 trillion in 2024. Similarly, UBA grew its pre-tax profit to N803.72 billion in 2024 from N757.68 billion it recorded in 2023, with its net profit increasing from N607.7 billion in 2023 to N766.6 billion in 2024.

In the same vein, Stanbic IBTC Holdings reported a profit before tax of N303.8 billion in 2024 from N172.91 billion it made in 2023. Its profit after tax rose to N225.3 billion in 2024, compared to N140.62 it recorded in 2023.

With charges as sources of cheap revenue, banks are no longer motivated to embark on constructive and creative efforts in their quest for profit generation. Profits gained from matching of deposit funds against credit lending in consonance with traditional banking are now waning. Perhaps, this explains the drop in the number of banks’ female employees deployed to chase depositors for cheap funds.

Though, lacking ingenuity and industry, use of charges as sources of cheap profits, can make the ordinary businessman to be envious of bank owners. Even Aliko Dangote, as the richest man in Africa, perhaps, may be regretting for allowing his bank, Liberty Merchant Bank, to go under, just like previous bank owners whose banks have closed shop. Their banks might have been sources of value addition to their wealth.

Regrettably, rather than portray the banks in positive light, these colossal profits shunned out by Nigerian banks, are stirring negative public perception about their operational methods, believed generally to be unhelpful to individual and business ventures, particularly, small and medium business enterprises.

The Federal Government and CBN are complicit in this unjustifiable charges and levies. Reason: the Federal Government recently received approximately N84.05 billion from Electronic Money Transfer Levy alone in the first quarter of this year, 2025. This is unhealthy, and a nightmare for the average Nigerian bank customer, who sees it as sheer extortion.

Since the government is a direct beneficiary of these charges, CBN may have been reluctant to exercise strict and regular oversight over the banks on compliance with its guidelines. And this may have unwittingly, encouraged the banks to thrive in unbridled manner, particularly, in “under the table transactions.” These boom and windfall profits would have been near impossible under a sane financial environment typified by global best banking practices.

So, while the banks jubilate for a job well done for full year 2024 financial reports, the real sector and individual customers for which the banks were established to support, groan and suffocate in pains due to business decline and losses suffered, including, in some cases, complete closure of operations and insolvency.

Put differently, the banking system has become a pain in the neck of customers. While customers are experiencing frustrations from incessant debit alerts attributable to subjective and jumbled charges, corporate customers, in addition, also suffer from inability to access simple credits to run businesses, including foreign exchange to settle Letters of Credit.

It is therefore imperative to compel the banks to function appropriately without putting the customers through pains. Gaps created by CBN’s unimpressive efforts at enforcing compliance with rules guiding bank charges, should be filled by various consumer protection agencies for the good of customers.

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) established to protect the interest of consumers should rise to the challenge of banks’ growing quest for abnormal profit through use of arbitrary charges, devoid of empathy for emotional state of customers.

Some of the policies that necessitated the bank charges should be reviewed, so as not to discourage Nigerians from optimizing the services of the banking industry. Failure to do this, could undermine government’s cashless policy, with implication on banks’ total clientele base. Moreso, as the country is still underbanked.

The banks must therefore, wake up, smell the coffee, feel the impulse of customers, and shore up the dwindling integrity and reputation of the banking industry.

■ Dr. Mike Owhoko, Lagos-based public policy analyst, author, and journalist, can be reached at www.mikeowhoko.com and followed on X (formerly Twitter) @michaelowhoko.

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

Intimate Affairs: Women who shared their men, By Funke Egbemode

One man, three, four wives, and a strong home, a marriage that lasted till the end of their lives. How did our grandmothers and great-grandmothers do it? How did they cope with the sleep roasters, sharing their men’s affection, attention and bodies? Didn’t they ever get jealous, feel betrayed when the men they love bring in new women? Wait, did they ever love their men? Their husbands? Maybe love never existed in their vocabulary? If love wasn’t part of the marriage deal in those days long gone, what held their homes and marriages together? What made it bearable when they saw their husbands come out of the bedroom of another woman?

The marriage institution then was sacred. These days, it’s like a show with a few episodes. You hear loud screams and squeals when the guy goes down on one knee and proposes. The girl prances and announces it like Jesus Christ had just been born, again, showing off the ring like it’s a million US dollar note. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a beautiful thing to be proposed to with frills and thrills but it is still a show, my personal opinion. The noise and announcement are unnecessary, if you ask me, and I hereby propose a private, solemn wedding proposal for the next couple. Who knows, maybe it’s all that loudness that jinxes many proposals and cuts short the joy that is expected to accompany the journey. Or is it that today’s women look for the wrong things in the right places or they take the right shopping list to the wrong markets and shopping malls?

One minute, it’s the sound of music and champagne popping, and the next, a long louder hiss of discontentment and list of reasons of irreconcilable differences. So, why did the marriages of many wives last forever in the days of yore and our monogamous ones only last a few moons? Don’t tell me you have never wondered why marriages of the last 50 years or so fail so quickly? I know it bothers you too. It’s like today’s couples only look forward to the ceremonies, the number of times they change from one outfit to another, the photo shoots (what does that one even mean?) and the entrance dance that is neither solemn nor elegant. Millions of naira and plenty of wasted plates of food later, the couple starts eyeing the exit.

Yet, our grandmothers did it. They managed to love and share their husbands. They covered the nakedness of their husbands, raised their six or 10 children and stayed in their homes till their dying breath. Did they not pass on the genes of polygamy to us, their daughters? Why do their sons want more than one woman and we girls have no coping skills for multi-women relationships? The boys inherited all that philandering and women-acquiring genes, without the skills, yes, but we girls just have no bed-sharing bones in our bodies. Maybe there’s nothing ‘genetic’ about polygamy. Maybe it’s just an acquired taste. And we have refused to acquire it. Don’t laugh, it’s not an easy taste to acquire.

Take the case of Grandmother Ibidun. Her granddaughter shared her story. She married into a royal family and as a prince, her husband was entitled to many wives. The old man loved the wife of his youth and did not want another but his mother insisted with every clout she had. She pressured his son and harassed her daughter-in-law. She called Grandma Ibidun all kinds of names, accused her of witchcraft. Grandma Ibidun decided to take the bull by the horns, threatened to return to her father’s house if prince did not take another wife. Long story shortened, a new wife arrived. But prince refused to ‘lift her wrapper’ for weeks. Of course, Grandma Ibidun noticed her husband’s reluctance to perform his conjugal duties and promptly renewed her threat.

‘You cannot sleep with me if you won’t sleep with her.’ Eh eh eh, I can imagine my modern sisters clapping that cynic clap and making faces. I feel you girls, but not Grandma Ibidun. She led her husband to the new wife’s chamber and waited until she was sure her husband had commenced commissioning his new bride before retiring to her own chambers. Now, that is beyond what I can call tolerance. Is she accommodating, patient, confident, nice or what? Those women of old were made from a mold that has since been dismantled. Which one of us will lead her husband to the waiting arms of another woman? I can hear all of you muttering ‘God forbid’, ‘I jump am pass’, ‘For where’ , even as you read this.

Grandma Medina’s story is even weirder by today’s standards. She actually paid the bride price of the new wife. Here’s what happened. Her husband had proposed to a young woman but could not come through with the bride price and all those things his new in-laws demanded. One month became two and then six. The prospective in-laws became impatient and the bride-in-waiting got tired of waiting. Indeed, she started ‘listening to other suitors, richer suitors. Words filtered into the ears of Grandma Medina. Farmers with bigger farms were eyeing the woman meant for her husband. W-h-a-t! Such affront. What would people say, that she was married to a poor man who could not afford the bride price of a second wife? The whole community would start looking down on her husband, her family. She must have imagined the colourful rumours.

‘Is that not Raheem, the one who couldn’t pay the bride price of Baba Imam’s daughter?’

‘I wonder why he started what he couldn’t finish.’

‘I heard he could not even feed the wife in his house.’

‘So, I heard too. Poor Raheem. I hope a rich man won’t eventually take his wife from him.’

To save her husband’s reputation and her own pride, Grandma Medina woke her husband up one night, handed over her savings to him so he could bring home a new wife.’

Is somebody’s jaw on the floor? Go on, pick it up. Even yours sincerely who prides herself as a woman with no single jealous bone in her body won’t use her money to bring home a rival. No, thank you. Or is there anyone who knows any woman born in the last 40 years who would fund the engagement/ traditional wedding list of her husband’s bride-to-be?

Grandma Shodiya was the eldest wife of her husband’s three wives. Baba Shodiya was a good-looking man who was proudly conscious of his good looks and took full advantage of it. He was the quintessential man-about-town of his time. But he was all looks, little money. Well, you know some women since creation have always fallen for the fine-face-smooth-tongued men. So it was for the Shodiya women. The two younger wives only discovered that their husband was nowhere nearly as rich as he professed when he was courting them. The industrious eldest wife was the real financial backbone of the family, not Daddy-fine-boy. And she indulged him all the days of his life. So the other two wives would not disgrace their husband, she would buy fabrics for the three of them and give Pa Shodiya to give the three of them. When the other two wives threatened to tear papa’s agbada for not providing food for their children, Grandma Shodiya would call her husband aside, give him money and he would come out of his chambers like a big boy and shame his nagging wives with money. Mama’s money.

Today’s wives, how many of you are covering your husband’s nakedness? And for how long have you done so and how long more are you willing to go to prevent his excesses from shaming him? For our forebears, their devotion to their marriages were legendary, complete with hard-to-believe tales of sacrifice and determination. Once they got married, they simply gave it their all, even in polygamy.

While I’m not preaching polygamy, not that I have to, I think we all need to do better with this marriage institution. I don’t think those who do not believe in the long haul should bother us with the wedding invitation cards and the fanfare. Weddings do not make marriages. All the instances cited here actually happened. Those old women who lived in and with polygamy made it work. Can today’s women at least try to behave like we really are descendants of our grandmothers?

Egbemode could be reached via [email protected]

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

Kudos To The Department of State Services (DSS) For Resorting to the Court of Law Regarding Pat Utomi’s Shadow Government: DSS as a model of professionalism which other public institutions should emulate

By Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja

One of the milestones in my public service career was when, in the year 2021, I was conferred with the prize of Gani Fawehinmi Award for Person with Integrity in Public Office.

Ford Foundation funded the said annual awards while it is administered by the Human Development and Environment Agenda (HEDA).

The award was in respect of my public service as chairman of a certain federal government agency.

Some years ago, I was the Chairman of the governing Board of a certain federal government agency.

In my role as supervisor, I received a petition of financial embezzlement by the CEO/Chief Executive Officer of the said federal government agency.

In the spirit of fair hearing, I invited both the petitioner and the said CEO to my office.

When confronted with the documents and evidence of his financial embezzlement, the CEO broke down in sweat (inside a chilling air-conditioned office), the CEO confessed to his involvement in the financial embezzlement of the said public funds.

He begged me on how we could handle the matter. I told him point-blank that in accordance with the law, he is supposed to resign.

The CEO was not happy with my response, so he went to the then supervising Minister and after the “brown envelope”, the Minister gave him the necessary backing to “stay put” in office!!! Instead of complying with the provisions of the relevant laws, such as the Code of Conduct Act, 1991 and the ICPC Act, 2000, which recommends dismissal and even prosecution of the said CEO, I became an object of the target practice by the said Minister.

He ordered the police to harass me. The investigating police officers told me point-blank that they had “orders from above” (backed up by cash) to deal with me. But after meeting me face-to-face, interrogation and seeing all the documents that I provided, they found nothing wrong that I had done. To the contrary, it is the CEO that ought to be in police custody. They told me that they would “chop” the money that they were given to harass me, and nothing would happen!!!

Next, the said Minister recruited some officials of the Department of State Services (DSS).

I was invited to their headquarters based on the instructions of the said Minister.

Based on the stories that I had previously heard about the DSS and the reputation and propensity of the said Minister for vindictiveness, I had the apprehension that the DSS would “deal with me” as instructed by the said Minister (who had previously dealt with a former Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN).

So, before I left home on the day of honouring the DSS invitation, my wife and I said a prayer, we hugged and kissed as I believed that that would be the last time I would be seeing my family.

I took along my international passport and all the documents relating to my public service in the said federal government agency.

Contrary to my fears, the senior DSS official, after an hour of interrogation and looking through all the documents, asked me to go home. You have done nothing wrong but speak out against an obvious act of financial embezzlement that came to your notice.

That was my first time of having a first hand experience of the professional manner in which majority of the officials of the DSS conduct their operations!!!

The next incident, which is more recent, was when the Director of the National Assembly Command of the DSS invited me in my capacity as the Executive Secretary of the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners- ALDRAP.

The said Association-ALDRAP had filed a LAWSUIT against the Senate President, the Speaker and the Clerk to the National Assembly to prevent them from enacting a Bill for legislation to extend the age of retirement of the Clerk to the National Assembly from 60 to 65 years. The lawsuit was filed at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria to challenge the said Bill as it was in conflict with the National Assembly Pensions Board Act, 2023, which stipulates 60 years as the age of retirement for all staff of the National Assembly.

Once again, I went with all the relevant documentation and after one hour of interrogation, the Director of the DSS told me that the Clerk to the then National Assembly who had previously instigated the said petition against our Association-ALDRAP was economical with the truth by not disclosing that there was already a legislation on this same subject-matter.

True to his words, the DSS official went to the President with the new information, and on that basis, the President refused to assent to the Bill.

There are many other details from that conversation that I cannot repeat here because of National Security implications!!!

Again, the DSS acted with utmost professionalism in this second instance.

And I was amazed at the amount of Intel that the DSS holds on each of the principal officials of the National Assembly.

Let’s just say that if it were the FBI or CIA that held that amount of information, “heads would roll”!!!

So the recent LAWSUIT that the DSS has filed against Prof. Pat Utomi’s Shadow Government comes as no surprise to me.

It is evidence of their professionalism instead of arresting him.

Below is the newspaper report:

“The Department of State Services has dragged a former presidential candidate, Prof. Pat Utomi, before the Federal High Court in Abuja over his recently formation of a shadow government.

In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/937/2025, the DSS named Utomi, the 2007 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, as the sole defendant, accusing him of attempting to unlawfully usurp the executive powers of President Bola Tinubu.”

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

JAMB Resit Exams: Today’s glitches leaves us questioning who will be blamed next —Ezeilo, SAN

  • Says, “It’s time to implement stringent ‘ethnic bias’ integrity tests for officials handling sensitive national tasks”

Some of us wanted to give the JAMB Registrar the benefit of the doubt.

Some, including myself, praised his acknowledgement of responsibility for the mass UTME failure and alleged glitches that impacted South-Eastern states.

Many accepted the explanation of human error. Yet, the chaos of today’s resit exams, coupled with complaints about last-minute venue changes and the hardships candidates faced, leaves us questioning who will be blamed next. Are the conspiracy theories and allegations from the Igbo people baseless, especially given their historical and ongoing marginalisation in various sectors?

It’s time to implement stringent “ethnic bias” integrity tests for officials handling sensitive national tasks, including lie detectors, to ensure equal opportunity and transparency for all.

While we await results, an independent investigation and audit of JAMB’s technology and personnel are crucial to pinpoint the root cause of this debacle. Accountability is non-negotiable. Bigots and racists must be kept away from national assignments.

Prof. Joy Ngozi Ezeilo SAN, OON (Life Bencher)

killing of 400 Level Student in Benue: Police claim vehicle occupants shot at them first

The Benue State Police Command has claimed that the occupants of the vehicle in which Ella, a 400-level university student, was killed in Makurdi, Benue state, on Friday, first shot at them (police operatives) before they responded.

CSP Anene Sewuese Catherine, Police Public Relations Officer, Benue State Police Command, in a statement, said the incident occurred in the early hours of Friday, May 16, 2025.

According to her, at approximately 4:00 a.m., a radio message was received from a patrol team stationed at Duku Park, Wurukum, reporting a suspicious encounter.

She said, “On 16/5/2025 [at] about 4:00 a.m., a radio message was received from a police team deployed at Duku Park, Wurukum, that the team flagged down a vehicle coming from Benue Links area, but the driver turned back, drove through the opposite lane, shooting sporadically at them. The police responded with a shot, but the driver drove away.

“The police were on the trail of the vehicle until about 10:00 a.m. this morning when information was received that a lady named Emmanuella Ahenjir, a student of Federal University, Wukari, Taraba State, had died at Benue State University Teaching Hospital from a gunshot.

“Upon arrival at the hospital, the detectives were briefed about the deceased, and the corpse was deposited at the hospital morgue for autopsy.

“One Apase Keghter, who was also an occupant of the vehicle, was seen at the hospital and invited for questioning.

“Mr. Apase stated that they had gone for club activities at Newcastle Event Centre and were on their way back when they drove on the opposite lane and passed the checkpoint without stopping, but did not shoot.

“They were shot by the police, but they drove to Welfare Quarters with the victim. They stopped when they noticed a flat tyre and called a commercial vehicle that took them to the hospital.

“His belongings, the exhibit car, and other occupants of the said vehicle are nowhere to be found at the moment.

“CP Emenari Ifeanyi has ordered a detailed investigation into the case. He assures friends and family of the deceased of his commitment to unravel the truth and ensure that the rule of law prevails.”

The Conclave

Anambra NBA orders boycott of court sittings from May 20-21 over murder of colleague

Following the brutal murder of a lawyer, Ifeanyi-Rolex Iloakasia. and his client after a court session in in Nanka, Orumba North Local Government Area, Anambra State, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Anambra Chapter has not only condemned the odious act but directed all lawyers to boycott all court sittings in the state from May 20 to May 21, 2025.

Iloakasia, a member of Otuocha Bar, was murdered alongside his client as they were returning from the court sitting in Ekwulobia High Court on May 15.

Anambra NBA, in a statement signed by K.G. Abonyi, Chairman, Committee of Chairmen and Secretaries of NBA Anambra, described the mysterious attack as a “blatant assault” on the legal profession and the rule of law.

They said that the NBA, Anambra Chapter, was deeply grieved and aggrieved by the ‘senseless” killing, especially as the tragic loss of Awa P. Awa, former Vice Chairman of Ihiala Branch of the NBA, remained fresh in their memories.

The Committee of Chairmen and Secretaries of NBA Anambra directed all lawyers to boycott all court sittings in the state from May 20 to May 21 in protest against the murder of their colleague.

The lawyers maintain that justice must be served, while demanding that the relevant authorities leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of truth and accountability.

“We appreciate the swift response of the Commissioner of Police, Anambra who promptly visited the crime scene for an on-the-spot assessment and directed the commencement of preliminary investigations into the murder.

“However, we urge the Commissioner of Police, DSS, and other law enforcement agencies to intensify efforts to ensure that the perpetrators do not evade justice.

“Speedy action is crucial in identifying and apprehending those responsible for this horrific crime,

“Too many lawyers have been sacrificed to insecurity in this state and the legal profession cannot thrive under an atmosphere of fear and insecurity,” it said

The NBA called on Gov. Chukwuma Soludo to revamp and strengthen security operations across the state to prevent such tragic occurrences in the future.

NAN

Woman cries out over victimisation, after alleged theft of one of her twin babies during birth by Abuja doctor

A distraught mother, Mrs Eunice Bright Ekwok, had filed an action against an Abuja-based medical doctor after accusing him of stealing one of her twins during birth in his hospital.

Eunice Ekwok claimed that the doctor initially admitted to the crime secretly to her, but pleaded that the outside world should not know about it on the first day she went to the doctor’s home to confront him.

Mrs Ekwok recalled that on the fateful day, the accused medical doctor handed over the alleged stolen child to her with an apology, but as she made to leave, his wife held her on her shirt, asking where she thought she was going with the child they had helped to raise.

Her claims were contained in a statement by her lawyer, Baba Isa. 

The statement read in part: ”Our clients, Mrs. Eunice Bright and her husband, Mr. Bartholomew Bright Ekwok, from Benekaba, Mfuma-Ntrigom, South Ukelle in Yala LGA of Cross River State, registered for antenatal care at Divine Reign Clinic, Sauka, Abuja.

“Antenatal scans revealed that she was pregnant with twins. On her due date, she was delivered of twins via Caesarean Section. However, when she asked about her children, her husband informed her that the doctor handed him only one child. When she inquired about the other child, she was told that the child had died at birth, after initially being told that the child was unwell and on oxygen.

“She was discharged and returned home. About a month later, our client took her child to the same hospital for immunization. At the hospital, she saw the doctor’s wife with a child who was exactly the same age as hers and bore a striking resemblance. (See attached picture of the children, who are now older). She returned home and shared her concerns with her husband.

“The couple decided to confront the doctor. Our client visited the hospital to confront the doctor, but didn’t find him there, so she went to his residence. When the doctor and his wife were confronted, they initially showed remorse and handed the baby to our client with apologies. However, as our client prepared to leave, the doctor’s wife physically prevented her from doing so and instructed the doctor to call the police.”

The lawyer’s statement further read: ”Our client and her husband (who later met her at the police station) were arrested and detained for several days. They were released only after the police forced them to sign a fabricated affidavit admitting to a crime and apologizing to the doctor. Since then, the matter has been transferred from one police division to another, from Command to FID to Force CID.”

The lawyer said his “clients’ sole request is for a DNA test to determine the paternity of the twins.”

“However, the police have blatantly refused, allegedly shielding the doctor and his wife, the perpetrators of this heinous crime. At one point, the police claimed that the doctor had given them N2 million for the DNA test. On another occasion, they claimed to have conducted the test but refused to release the results.

“In a shocking twist, the police filed frivolous criminal charges against our clients for allegedly providing false information to the police and defaming the character of the suspected child thief and his wife,” the statement further read.

Isa Esq., expressed concern that his “clients were arraigned and remanded in prison custody until they were able to perfect their bail”, adding that “it was at this point that our legal services were sought and retained.”

He stressed that” This barbaric crime will not go unpunished. We are taking steps to ensure justice for our clients. We appreciate the tremendous support our clients have received from well-meaning Nigerians,” promising to provide updates to the public subsequently.

Police mum

The police have continued to maintain sealed lips over the issue. The Investigating Police Officer, IPO handling the case at the Force Criminal Investigation Department, FCID, Ali Kayo, refused to comment on the case and instead, directed Vanguard to the Force Public Relations Officer, FPRO, at the Force Headquarters, Abuja.

Several attempts to get the response of the police through the Force Headquarters’ spokesman has remained abortive as he failed to pick calls or respond to messages made to his known phone line.

Ironically, the case filed by the police against the aggrieved mother and her husband is slated for Children’s Day, May 27, at the Magistrates’ Court, Wuse 2.

For Baba Isa, Esq., “We shall meet there. Our clients are only requesting that DNA be carried out. They are not asking for too much.”

Read Also: How doctor stole one of my twins during birth, Abuja housewife narrates

Vanguard

A New Wave: 75% of young graduates in the US would rather work in hospitals than tech giants

A major shift is unfolding among young American graduates, who are increasingly turning away from the tech industry in favor of careers in healthcare. Once regarded as the ultimate career destination, tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Apple are losing their appeal.

Instead, studies show that more members of Generation Z are now prioritizing job stability and a meaningful career in the healthcare sector. This trend, highlighted by recent surveys, is reshaping the professional landscape, with young people now drawn to industries offering security and purpose.

Tech Industry’s Diminishing Appeal

Tech companies have long been seen as the dream workplaces for young professionals. However, a significant change is occurring as more students and young graduates turn their attention to other fields. According to a study conducted by the National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS), there is a growing disconnect between young talent and the tech industry.

Many are moving away from careers in computer science, engineering, and other tech-related fields in favor of jobs in healthcare. Factors driving this shift include growing concerns over the effects of artificial intelligence and automation on the tech industry, with many fearing job loss as machines become more capable of performing tasks previously handled by humans.

Additionally, high-profile layoffs and the fast-paced turnover of staff at major tech companies have tarnished the once-stable image of the industry. These changes have led to a broader sense of uncertainty about future career prospects within the sector.

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