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Texas orders ban of DeepSeek amid reviews of how it upended US AI market

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Texas orders ban of DeepSeek amid reviews of how it upended US AI market

[Video]

Just days after Fortune Magazine announced “Why DeepSeek is excellent news for the U.S. stock market”, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued a ban on Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek for government-issued devices, becoming the first state to restrict the popular chatbot in such a manner. The upstart AI platform has sent shockwaves throughout the AI community after gaining popularity amongst American users in recent weeks.

Fortune reported that: “China’s DeepSeek surprised the technology world this week by releasing an AI model that almost matched the performance of American rivals while requiring far less computing power. The news sparked a sell-off in U.S. stocks as investors fretted that the need for powerful computers to train and operate AI models may be overblown.

“In fact, this is a shortsighted view that misses the significant benefits that DeepSeek represents for the U.S. economy and for businesses worldwide.”

Aside from banning DeepSeek AP reoprts, Texas Gov. Abbott, equally prohibited popular Chinese-owned social media apps Xiaohongshu, or what some are calling RedNote, and Lemon8 from all state-issued devices.

“Texas will not allow the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate our state’s critical infrastructure through data-harvesting AI and social media apps,” Abbott said in a statement. “Texas will continue to protect and defend our state from hostile foreign actors.”

The governor’s office declined to comment further for this story.

AI startup DeepSeek has rocked markets upon demonstrating its capacity to compete with industry leader OpenAI.

U.S. also users flocked to Xiaohongshu in the days leading up to TikTok’s short-lived ban. It’s a popular app in China and surrounding countries — such as Malaysia and Taiwan — with roughly 300 million active users that many Americans were using as a replacement doe TikTok, and as a form of protest against the ban.

Lemon8 is also a Chinese company owned by ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok. The social media app also gained traction in the days leading up to the original TikTok ban on Jan. 19.

Texas, along with many other states and the federal government, has banned TikTok on government devices. The app’s future remains in limbo after President Trump issued an executive order to give ByteDance more time to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations.

ByteDance did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

Watch the video of man who predicted ban of DeepSeek in the US.

The meaning and legal effect of next of kin (1)

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The meaning and legal effect of next of kin (1)

By Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN

A very dangerous message has been circulating online in respect of the law and practice of administration of estates. Let me repeat it for whatever it is worth.

IS THE CONCEPT OF PAYABLE ON DEATH (POD) LEGAL?

“So ‘Next of Kin’ is useless in the Bank. The real thing needed in the Bank is if you die today, your ”Next of Kin” will not have any access to the money in your account!!!

“So many Nigerians think that their next of kin is the automatic heir to their accounts. But the truth is that if your next of kin is not a signatory to your account, and if you don’t have a written Will to determine that person’s legitimacy, the person will not have access to that money at all. Your bank will have to go through a process called a legal probate. This probate period helps them determine who gets the money in your account. This is a very very lengthy and expensive process. Even after the whole process is done, your family will have to forfeit some very reasonable amount of the money for legal fees. But if you want to avoid this, simply request for your bank to give you something called a POD form. POD stands for “payable on death”. The name of the person you fill in that POD form will determine who will get your money. All the person needs to bring is a death certificate to get that money out. With a POD form, you will save your family the stress of going through all that lengthy legal process and even losing some money to the law.”

Nothing can be more worrisome than seeking to bypass the due process of law or seeking to cut corners to achieve a goal by any means possible. The above message must have resonated with many people who see lawyers and the legal process as cumbersome and unduly technical. Nonetheless, it is a dangerous proposition for any one to canvass for adoption by beneficiaries of the estate of a deceased person. By its designation, the concept of POD is outrightly illegal being in direct contravention of existing laws of the land. There are established ways of distributing the estate of a deceased person and POD is not one of them.

The idea of POD will throw up many legal issues if at all it is available for use by any bank or financial institution. By the express provisions of the Administration of Estates Law of many States, the mode of determining the assets of a deceased person is either through a Will or Letter of Administration. The internal procedure of a bank or an institution cannot override the express provisions of the law. There has to be some basis for adopting a financial formula beyond policy and practice. First is the issue of revenue for the government. The owner of the estate must have been paying tax to the government while he was alive, so those who seek to take benefit of the assets comprised in his estate should not employ any crude method that will enable them to evade paying tax to the government.

The second is equity and justice. The deceased owner of the estate cannot stand alone, if by his actions he has created others to depend on him, such as wives, children, parents or relatives. His choice of what to do with his assets has to comply with existing laws. For instance, a man cannot on his own decide to give all his assets to his son through the amorphous device of POD if at the time of his death he has a surviving wife or other children. There may be other beneficiaries who may have been excluded from the assets but who are genuinely entitled for one reason or the other. The rule of fairness dictates that all the beneficiaries should submit themselves to a transparent process that guarantees justice and equity. Without any doubt, any bank that releases money or assets to anyone without following the due process prescribed by law does so at its own risk and will be held liable by all beneficiaries of the assets who have been so excluded.

The third issue is sustenance of the legal profession. We should not encourage our institutions to short-circuit the law in such a way that may deprive legal practitioners of needed resources. Lawyers are already bearing the brunt of this economy so we should create jobs for young lawyers and not seek to deny legal practitioners of legitimate opportunities to earn their fees. So many of these estates are very large and rich in assets and should be able to afford to pay legal fees.

After all, the bank where the money is kept is charging interest and other fees. It is a different thing altogether if an estate is not sufficiently endowed to pay legal or other fees, which brings in the concept of waiver by the government or pro bono service by the lawyer. To my mind, a person who wants to inherit an asset should be ready to part with revenue to those who deserve it.

MEANING OF NEXT OF KIN

On February 2, 2024, the Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgment in the case of Ironbar v Federal Mortgage Finance Ltd, which is now reported in (2024) 12 NWLR (Pt.1952) 275; (2024) LPELR-62186 (SC).

Per Ogunwumiju JSC:

“It may be important at this point to consider the capacity as “next of kin” in which the Appellant principally sued. The term, next of kin has been described as the nearest blood relative of a person. See JOSEPH v FAJEMILEHIN O.O. & Anor (2012) LPELR-9849(CA). The term can also refer to a person who can be contacted or notified in cases of emergencies or eventualities. For instance, one of the forms that is usually filled while in transit or in hospitals, requires the information of next of kin. This is needed in case of any accident or death. In other words, where there is an accident or death involving that person, his next of kin shall be notified or informed. The BLACK’S LAW DICTIONARY defines the phrase “next of kin” to mean a person or persons most closely related to a deceased person by blood, consanguinity or affinity. In other words one’s next of kin is one’s relative. It also defines the phrase “next of kin” to mean an intestate’s heirs – that is, the person or persons who may be entitled to inherit personal property from a deceased who has not left a will. In other words a “next of kin” is a family member or one’s relative. The phrase gained popularity during the colonial era because the foreign administrators needed to indicate their “next of kin” in the various forms they filled to ensure that if they died in the colonies, the British government could contact the family through their next of kin as indicated in the employee records.

Also, the term is constantly put into use by hospitals. In this case, next of kin means a person who can make medical decisions for a person who is incapacitated or unable to do so, during emergencies. The term is also frequently used in financial documents by banks and other financial institutions. In this instance, next of kin means a person who can ensure that the proper steps are taken towards the recovery of the money held at the bank, at the demise of the owner. In other words, being a next of kin of a person, as regards his money in the bank, does not give a right to inherit such money, either partly or as a whole, it just gives the right to contact the bank and ensure that the money is safe to be properly distributed by the law governing the estate of the deceased.”

The take home from the decision in Ironbar’s case is that being described as a next of kin confers no legal right on the holder of that office beyond formal recognition for the purpose of identifying the assets and to preserve them. If he is otherwise not a beneficiary recognized by law, the title of ‘next of kin’ grants no legal right to him over the estate. And if he is a beneficiary, he still has to go through the procedure prescribed by law for him to step into the estate proper. Human affairs are never predictable, at least in relation to the payment of the compulsory debt that we owe our maker, to leave this world one day, through death. It is an inevitable appointment that everyone must keep, but the issue is always the time of that appointment, which is known to God Himself alone. Because death could come unexpectedly, the law has made provisions for the mode of distribution of the estate of a person who departs unexpectedly without making adequate provisions for the sharing of his or her assets amongst the survivors.

The rancours that normally attend this matter have made it imperative to consider it as a topic for discussion. Ideally, the rational thing is for everyone to make plans for the sharing of his assets in a Will, wherein the mode of distribution of the estate of the deceased is well stated, to avoid unnecessary disputes. Even at that, experience has shown that notwithstanding the best of intentions by a testator, people still find reasons to war within themselves, so long as money is involved. In this regard, the estate of a first republic minister is still in court, decades after his death. And two of the best lawyers that Nigeria has ever produced wrote their Wills in such a way that no one would ever have thought of any controversy thereafter, but there have been contentions between their families upon their demise. So, the question then is what can be done to prevent the kind of disputes that attend the distribution of the estate of a deceased person?

Amaechi, el-Rufai and Alákedun

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Amaechi, el-Rufai and Alákedun

When I read the common position the former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi and his counterpart from Kaduna, Nasir el-Rufai, pushed in Abuja last week about the government of President Bola Tinubu, the first thing that came to mind was the curse of instability Obàtálá placed on Alákedun. Indeed, there is no stability for the betrayer because it was pronounced: Àti ‘gi dí’gi ni ti Ìjímèrè (From one tree to the other is the lot of Ijimere-monkey)!

Rìkísí is Yoruba word for conspiracy. When two hitherto enemies suddenly find a common ground, my people say of them: Rìkísí pa wón pò wón di òré (united in friendship by conspiracy). Rìkísí has a forerunner. Before two enemies come together to pursue a common goal, both, or either of them must have betrayed a cause. Betrayal comes before conspiracy (Ilè dídà ní sáájú òtè). Again, no betrayer goes unpunished according to Yoruba belief.

Thanks be to those who nurtured us from our cradle with moral teachings. The various moonlight tales that dominated our informal education in the days of yore are not in vain after all. One of such tales is the story of the small brown monkey, Alákedun, otherwise known as Ìjímèrè. Our elders told us the tale to show why monkeys remain ambulant to this day, jumping from one tree to the other.

Alákedun, the fable says, was a close friend to Obàtálá, the Yoruba god of creativity. One of the delicacies Obatala would not miss is palm wine. The deity was said to relish palm wine to the extent of being addicted to it. And being a generous god, Obatala always invited all other deities and his friends to share his palm wine with him.

Of all the friends, the closest to Obàtálá was Alákedun, whom the deity employed to work for him and paid him handsomely. The only secret Obatala probably kept away from Alakedun was the very minute the god of creativity would go into the inner recesses with his wife for due benevolence! They were that close.

One day, the other deities and friends, jealous of Obàtálá’s progress in life, decided to conspire against him. They went to a fake Babalawo, who made a false divination and pronounced that Ifa had banned the consumption of palm wine. Obàtálá knew that the plot was against him, and he devised a means to beat them at their game.

Obàtálá got a new pot and asked his wife to fill it with ògí (pap). When the formation got fermented, he poured the whitish water into another pot and began to drink it. Alákedun noticed that Obàtálá used to drink a whitish substance from the pot. He opened the pot and saw the whitish water inside. Without having a taste of the content, he dashed to his co-conspirators to inform them that Obàtálá had defied the instruction from Ifa as he continued to drink palm wine.

Obàtálá was summoned and the allegation laid before him. The deity did not utter a word. He simply brought out the pot and asked everyone to taste the content. They all did. Yes, the content was whitish, but it did not taste like palm wine, nor did it have the scent of palm wine. Alákedun was ashamed.

As a punishment, Obàtálá disengaged him from his employ and placed a curse on him to wit: Alákedun will not have a stable lifestyle but will hop from one tree to the other. Whenever you see a monkey, know the source of its perpetual ambulant lifestyle. There is no stability for a betrayer!

The duo of Amaechi and el-Rufai spoke at a national conference on strengthening democracy in Nigeria, organised by the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development in Abuja. At the conference, Amaechi for instance, asked the younger generation of Nigerians to be ready to fight very hard and wrest power from the incumbent President Tinubu.

The former Minister of Transportation under the lethargic government of General Muhammadu Buhari, warned that: “The politician is there in Nigeria to steal, maim, and kill to remain in power. If you think Tinubu will give it to you, you are wasting your time.” He added that for Tinubu to be shown the way out of power in the next round of general elections, “The people should be angry. There should be protests. Not even protests against anybody but against the politicians that ‘we won’t vote.” Unless the people demonstrated that they would do the unthinkable to defend their votes, they should perish the thought of chasing the present power wielders out of power.

To be honest, there is nothing the former Rivers State governor said at that event that is not true. Even his account of how the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) intimidated former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) out of power is also correct. The only snag in his submissions is why Rotimi Amaechi is bitter about the Tinubu administration. Why did he, for the terrible eight wasteful years of the Buhari administration, not come out forcefully to encourage Nigerians to ‘rescue’ their country?

The answer to the above posers is also in the tale of the Hyena and the mangoes. Hyena, by nature, is not gifted with the talent of jumping heights. So, the tale has it that one day, the Hyena was hungry. It appeared that all the lesser animals in the jungle that could have served as good lunch were holding a prayer session. The Hyena eventually got to a mango tree with ripe fruits. It decided to have some to keep its belly warm pending when any animal would stray to its path.

Hyena made several unsuccessful attempts to pluck the ripe mangoes. When it dawned on it that it was a mission impossible, it looked up at the mangoes, hissed and intoned: “Why am I even wasting my time over these unripe mangoes” That is exactly the frustration Amaechi is suffering over the Presidency he sought and did several rounds of sprinting at the Port Harcourt Stadium in 2023 to show that he is fit, but failed to accomplish!

Nobody can successfully defend the cluelessness in the Tinubu administration without sounding witless. Be that as it may, it is equally not in the place of Amaechi to criticise this government if he could tolerate the vapid administration of Buhari for eight years without a mewl from him!

The Buhari government under which Amaechi served as a minister and the current docile Tinubu administration are like leprosy and third-degree scabies. Both destroy the skin of the afflicted. It is an insult to our sensibilities if Amaechi is now projecting himself as our moral compass to judge anyone in power. From the time he left the university till he left government in 2023, Amaechi has remained an over-pampered child of government (Akebaje omo Ijoba). If there is any protest in the league of the one he advocated in Abuja, the former governor should be told that he will not escape the wrath of the people. It is better that he knows the fire he intends to kindle with his call to action!

The same applies to el-Rufai and his sanctimonious propensity when he said that: “You cannot afford to have illiterates, semi-literates, and cunning people as your leaders. This is why we end up with the poor leadership we have today.” The question to ask is: who assisted the “illiterates, semi-literates, and cunning people” to get to power in the first instance?

If el-Rufai is so concerned about the quality of leadership Nigeria deserves, was Tinubu the best among the lots that contested the APC presidential primaries? Why, for instance, did he rally all northern elite in the APC, and blackmailed the Presidency then into supporting the Tinubu agenda? At what point did he realise the ‘illiteracy’ and ‘semi-illiteracy’ in this administration? After his failed attempt at becoming a minister?

And talking about the non-existent stance of opposition, or attempt to cripple the opposition by the APC, who will help us to tell el-Rufai that he is the chief architect of the death of opposition in the current dispensation? Why would he not realise that he joined forces with others to decapitate the PDP when he abandoned the party to join the current “illiterates and semi-illiterates” to form the APC all in a bid to wrest power at all costs!

If it is true that “The problems that led to the creation of the APC remain unresolved” and he “…no longer believe the APC is interested in addressing them”, as he claimed, why is it difficult for el-Rufai to understand that APC is a child of conspiracy and that the party only came to wrest power and nothing more?

Is el-Rufai not old enough to know that whatever is established on the quicksand of conspiracy would not last? That conspiracy does not birth any good child? This is why his romance with Amaechi, and other politicians in the PDP, to ally will also not stand. There is nothing altruistic about the whole gang-up!

It is most unfortunate that President Tinubu is not giving one the opportunity to defend him. How I wish that the man who was said to have “built Lagos” was living up to his billing as a ‘builder’! One would have used some unkind words to qualify the el-Rufais and Amaechis of this era!

The only takeaway from the rantings of these two folks is that there is nothing conspiracy cannot, sadly, breed! When Rotimi Amaechi indicated interest to become president in 2023, el-Rufai was at the forefront, leading the foot soldiers of President Tinubu. Today, Amaechi and el-Rufai have found a common ground in the lacklustre performance of Tinubu to sermonise on good governance; the same they could not offer the people of Rivers and Kaduna States, when they held sway as governors. Pity!

If one’s masquerade dances well at the arena, one cannot but be elated. But how does one chant the praise names of this Tinubu’s Egúngún that is missing every step of the choreography at the arena? Why won’t the frogs of Amaechi and el-Rufai urinate on the white costume of Tinubu’s masquerade when the only visible achievement of the 20-month-old administration is the pain it inflicted on the people at its inception?

Unfortunately for the hapless masses, with the way the PDP is standing today, and the back-and-forth locomotion from Peter Obi and his Labour Party, the tendency that Tinubu would refine his 2023 winning ‘strategies’ and foist another term on us all is very high! Sad, and at the same time terrifying, but the Rìkísí from Amaechi and el-Rufai is not strong enough to dislodge Tinubu from Aso Rock Villa. I wonder how many Nigerians would pay attention to the duo with their tendency to jump into any political bed as long as their insatiable personal interests are concerned! It appears that Òjé (lead) has been fixed on the chief priest’s finger. Who will remove it?

Nigerian-US based Woman, Abayomi Whint, sworn-in as judge in New York

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Nigerian-US based Woman, Abayomi Whint, sworn-in as judge in New York

A Nigerian woman based in the United States, Abayomi Whint, has been sworn in as a judge for the Kings County New York Civil Court.

The announcement was made through a video posted on her Instagram page on January 23, 2025, titled, “Welcome to the bench, Your Honour!”

Whint was one of eight candidates elected as judges in Brooklyn during the November 2024 elections having been nominated by Brooklyn district leaders.

The swearing-in ceremony took place at Brooklyn Law School, where she took the oath of office in the presence of her family and friends, who celebrated the moment dressed in white and green.

In her oath, she pledged, “…to discharge the duties of the office of judge for the Kings County New York Civil Court, according to the best of my ability. So, help me God.”

With over two decades of experience in the public sector, Whint has built a career as a litigator, certified mediator, and arbitrator specialising in conflict resolution.

Beyond her legal expertise, she has contributed to organisational leadership, promoting inclusivity, team building and restorative justice practices. As a Restorative Circle Keeper, she has been instrumental in fostering fair dispute resolution.

The Nigerian Consul General, Ambassador Abubakar Jidda, and his wife hosted a banquet at the Nigerian Embassy in New York in her honour.

She is an experienced litigator, certified mediator, and arbitrator who specialises in conflict resolution.

Ramaphosa fires back at Trump over land confiscation claims

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Ramaphosa fires back at Trump over land confiscation claims

South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday hit back at his United States counterpart, Donald Trump over the latter’s threat to cut funding to the African nation after accusing it of “confiscating” land and “treating certain classes of people very badly.”

Trump on Sunday announced he was cutting off all future funding to the country pending an investigation.

“South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people very badly. I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Later, in a briefing with journalists, Trump said that South Africa’s “leadership is doing some terrible things, horrible things” without giving examples.

“So, that’s under investigation right now. We’ll make a determination, and until such time as we find out what South Africa is doing–they’re taking away land and confiscating land, and actually, they’re doing things that are perhaps far worse than that,” he added.

In his response on Monday via his X handle, Ramaphosa noted that the democratic nation of South Africa respects the rule of law, justice and equity, noting that the government hasn’t “confiscated any land.”

With regards to the funding cut as disclosed by Trump, Ramaphosa, while acknowledging the US as a significant “political and trade partner,” corrected that South Africa only benefits from the US-funded “PEPFAR Aid, which constitutes 17% of South Africa’s HIVAids programme.”

His tweets read, “South Africa is a constitutional democracy that is deeply rooted in the rule of law, justice and equality. The South African Government has not confiscated any land.

“The recently adopted Expropriation Act is not a confiscation instrument, but a constitutionally mandated legal process that ensures public access to land in an equitable and just manner as guided by the constitution.

“South Africa, like the United States of America and other countries, has always had expropriation laws that balance the need for public usage of land and the protection of rights of property owners. We look forward to engaging with the Trump administration over our land reform policy and issues of bilateral interest. We are certain that out of those engagements, we will share a better and common understanding of these matters.

“The US remains a key strategic political and trade partner for South Africa. With the exception of PEPFAR Aid, which constitutes 17% of South Africa’s HIVAids programme, there is no other funding that is received by South Africa from the United States.”

According to AFP, the land issue in South Africa has long been divisive, with efforts to redress the inequality of white-rule drawing criticism from conservatives including the world’s wealthiest person, Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa and is a powerful Trump adviser.

It noted that last month, Ramaphosa signed a bill that stipulates the government may, in certain circumstances, offer “nil compensation” for property it decides to expropriate in the public interest.

Pretoria argues the bill does not allow the government to expropriate property arbitrarily and must first seek to reach an agreement with the owner.

However, some groups fear a situation similar to the Zimbabwe government’s seizure of white-owned commercial farms, often without compensation, after independence in 1980.

– South African billionaires –

Land ownership is a contentious issue in South Africa with most farmland still owned by white people three decades after the end of apartheid.

Since then land courts have adjudicated on a handful of land disputes and, after exhaustive processes, returned land to previously displaced owners.

According to the South African government, the 1913 Natives Land Act saw thousands of Black families forcibly removed from their land by the apartheid regime.

The delicate issue has been a particular rallying point for the right, with various conservative figures including Musk and right-wing journalist Katie Hopkins championing the cause of white land-owners.

Musk was born in Pretoria on June 28, 1971, to an engineer father and a Canadian-born model mother, leaving the country in his late teens. The formal policy of apartheid lasted until 1990, and multi-racial elections were held in 1994.

Trump has surrounded himself with powerful Silicon Valley figures who came of age in apartheid southern Africa, like David Sacks, his newly-appointed artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency czar, who co-founded PayPal along with Musk.

Another PayPal cofounder and Billionaire, Peter Thiel who introduced Trump to his vice president, J.D. Vance — also lived in southern Africa, including time in Namibia which was then controlled by Pretoria.

He has previously been accused of supporting the apartheid system, that violently subjugated the Black majority of South Africa to uphold white rule and economic control, something a spokesman denied on his behalf.

AFP

Another Epiphany: Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) unwittingly explains the reason for IGP’s tenure extension

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Another Epiphany: Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) unwittingly explains the reason for IGP’s tenure extension

By Tonye Clinton Jaja

In the past few weeks, the Nigerian public and others have received a lot of confessions from both current and former public officials.

Although not originally planned as public confessions, the public statements of these former and current public officials, UNWITTINGLY provided deep insights into the “inner workings”, the modus operandi and the priorities of the top public officials of Nigeria.

It started with the confessions of the current Governor of Bayelsa State, who admitted that he spent a whopping $15,000 as transportation fare for marabout (spiritual adviser) who had been imported from Senegal to “secure” his successful emergence as Governor of Bayelsa State!!!

Then the next person to take the microphone, was Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, National Assembly. In his own written testimony, he provided details of how Nyesom Ezenwo Wike (NEW) expended over ₦1bn of Rivers State government funds to finance the election of Governor Bala Mohammed in the year 2018/2019.

Then last week, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi (RCA) took the microphone and announced that PBAT and all other Nigerian politicians will NEVER RELINQUISH VOLUNTARILY. That they are prepared to kill, maim and steal (and amend the necessary laws to elong the IGP’S tenure) to retain their hold on political power!!!

And most recently, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, the Police Public Relations Officer-PRO has joined the list of confessors.

So that I would not be accused of misquoting him out of context, I will reproduce verbatim what he said as follows:

“Muyiwa Adejobi, the public relations officer of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), says it is ridiculous for Nigerians to believe that officers can not afford expensive phones.

Adejobi, while responding to a query on his X handle, on Saturday, said netizens need to be “straight and be objective” when questioning police officers’ source of income.

HOW IT STARTED

On Friday, Adejobi posted a picture of one David Victoria, a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) and secretary to the inspector general of Police (IGP), who appears to be holding a Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 and a diamond-branded watch around her wrist.

“We have beautiful and intelligent ones in the force. This is DSP David Victoria, secretary to the IGP. Happy weekend. Ire o,” Adejobi wrote.

Netizens, who reacted to the post, asked for a disclosure of the officer’s salary that could afford a cellphone worth ₦1 million.

An X user also requested that Victoria’s account statement be printed out to track her cash inflow claiming her salary cannot afford such an expensive gadget.”

When a public servant, owns any property that is beyond their current salary, there can be only two LEGITIMATE sources and explanations as follows:

  1. A legitimate gift or legacy bequeathed by a very wealthy spouse or relative or friend. Or earned from bonds or shares; and
  2. Income earned from agricultural activity which is the only approved extra-secular activity that Nigerian public servants are permitted to engage in.

Therefore, the Nigerian Police PRO owes us as the general public an objective explanation as to the other sources of income that accrue to public servants, in this instance police officers (other than their salaries and income from agricultural activity).

Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi’s proposed explanation can be a source of renewed interest and recruitment into the Nigerian Police by majority of unemployed Nigerian youths who would no realise that apart from the regular salary there are other sources of income for Police officers (which was previously unknown to majority of Nigerians)!!!

Unwittingly, Mr. Adejobi’s response has inadvertently provided additional explanation to the reason why the IGP lobbied for and was granted an extension of tenure.

Considering that an ordinary Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and Secretary to the IGP is using a wristwatch and phone that costs over ₦1m, what would the IGP himself be using?

And unless, the IGP has an undisclosed mental health challenge, or is not a “typical” Nigerian public official, which “Nigerian” public official in his “right senses” would not seek to elongate his tenure when such an office gives him access to such humongous public funds!!!

Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja,
Executive Director,
Nigerian Law Society (NLS).

Are Yoruba Muslims truly marginalised?

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Are Yoruba Muslims truly marginalised?

Each time we hear or read outsiders say they are fighting for Yoruba Muslims, some of us (Yoruba Muslims) laugh. Who told them that we cannot fight our war ourselves – if there is a war? A statement signed by an Imam Haroun Muhammad Eze on behalf of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) led by the Sultan of Sokoto alleged last week that Yoruba Muslims were suffering marginalization in Yorubaland. The statement headlined ‘Live and Let Live’ complained about what it called “calculated attempts to prevent Muslims in the (South-West) region from practising their faith.” I read it and asked myself if that truly was the case. I asked some of my Muslim friends also. We compared notes and laughed.

The statement from the NSCIA wanted Sharia law in Yoruba states. Eighteen years ago, Kano-based Islamic scholar, Sheikh Adam Koki, was quoted as telling the New York Times that “politicians (have) started seeing Sharia as a gateway to political power.” They saw right and used it very well in pocketing Kano and its two million votes. They still annex and harness that gateway to arrive at power and wealth. With the piety of Sharia, a partnership in governance has evolved with northern Nigeria’s highbinders. And, because some persons pestled a tiger to death yesterday, some club-wielding people without muscles are on the prowl in 2025 Yoruba forest, hunting tigers and leopards. They do not know that it is not every leopard that is fated to fall to clubs.

The present cries are very unnecessary. Sharia never left Yorubaland. Our fathers called it seria. It has evolved adopting adept procedures in deft accommodation of its environmental and social realities. Yoruba Muslim families, who desire it, still conduct their private affairs in accordance with Sharia without disturbing their neighbours.

A quiet Sharia panel has been sitting for decades at Oja’ba, Ibadan. There is another one in Osogbo. I suspect that other major Yoruba towns have them. They adjudicate on marriage and marital issues; they arbitrate on disputes among Muslims. They do their thing without noise and drama and excesses. Every willing Muslim who goes there loves what the panels do and how they do it. The respective state governments are aware of their existence but they do not disturb them. At the compound and family levels, check out what we do with Muslim weddings, burials, administration of estates and inheritance matters etc. Those who want more than this should be bold to say what exactly they want.

They want hisbah, moral police on the streets of Ibadan, Abeokuta and Akure? They want a Yoruba Bello Buba Jangebe who would be amputated for stealing a goat while big men who steal roads and bridges hold court? Anyone who wants the Kano, Zamfara kind of Sharia in 2025 Western Nigeria needs counseling. They can have that only in an Islamic Republic of Yorubaland. And, to have that, they will need more than mere words and farty threats. The Nigerian state is a multi-religious reality; it exists to enforce its laws – your creed and my credo notwithstanding.

The case for officially sanctioned Sharia in Yorubaland will be easy to argue and win if its solicitors can show how its introduction in the North has helped the North. They should just exhibit how 22 years of ‘Sharia’ has turned Kano to Dubai or Riyadh or Doha; how more religious, more pious, more equitable, more peaceful and more prosperous the Muslim North has become since ‘Sharia’ became their guiding moral and political philosophy. That is all they need to prove to the Yoruba that Western Nigeria is missing something cool and good for their physical and spiritual growth.

The claim that Yoruba Muslims suffer persecution at the hands of Yoruba leaders and principalities is absurd. The most powerful human being in Nigeria today is the president; he is a Yoruba Muslim. He possibly read that NSCIA’s press statement and laughed as I did. Am I, a Yoruba Muslim, marginalised in Yorubaland? Who is marginalising whom and who is complaining or should complain?

I come from a state (Osun State) that has had six elected governors since it was created in 1991. Five of those six governors are/were Muslims. And, I will identify them: Alhaji Isiaka Adeleke was the first elected governor of the state. He was in power from 1992 to November 1993 when General Abacha sacked everyone everywhere. With democracy in 1999 came Chief Abdulkarim Adebisi Akande, a Muslim. After Akande came Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, a Christian. Then came Alhaji Rauf Aregbesola, a Muslim who spent eight years in power and was succeeded by a Muslim, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola. Alhaji Oyetola’s successor, Senator Nurudeen Ademola Adeleke, flaunts his Muslim heritage and pedigree for all to see. No one has ever complained about the religious identity of these leaders – and no one will. Indeed, there is a governorship election next year; virtually all contenders that have shown their faces so far in the two principal parties are Muslims.

No one’s religion has ever truly been an issue in Osun State. On May 29, 2003, a Muslim Chief Judge swore in a Christian governor (Oyinlola) and a Christian deputy governor (Erelu Olusola Obada). The Christian-Christian ticket of Oyinlola/Obada was elected by an electorate from three senatorial districts, two of which are predominantly Muslim. There was not a single word of complaint from anywhere. The Muslim incumbent who lost that election did not bother to contest his loss in court.

I work in a state (Oyo State) that has produced five governors from 1999 to date. Three of the five are/were Muslims. Again, I will identify them: Alhaji Lam Adesina (Muslim) was the first to take the baton in 1999. He was succeeded by Senator Rashidi Ladoja, a Muslim. Otunba Adebayo Alao Akala, a Christian, succeeded Ladoja. Alao-Akala spent a term and handed over to Alhaji Isiaka Abiola Ajimobi, a Muslim, who spent two terms. The incumbent is Mr Seyi Makinde, a Christian. He will be succeeded by a Muslim or a Christian in two years’ time – no one cares.

If Sharia as it exists in the North is truly a priority of the Yoruba, would those Muslim governors have ignored doing it? Or are those gentlemen not Muslim enough? Indeed, as recently as 2011 to 2015, the governors of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, and Osun States were all Muslim. We are talking of four out of six states being ruled by Muslim governors at the same time. I am referring to the years when Raji Fashola (Lagos); Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun); Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo) and Rauf Aregbesola (Osun) were governors. The four states operated under Muslims – leaving Ekiti and Ondo states for Christians. And there was peace. There will always be peace because what throws in governors and what kicks them out in Western Nigeria is the sobriety that comes with good behavior and good governance –not praise and worship.

Where I come from, we were taught to learn how to state our case before learning how to fight. The statement from the NSCIA said sharia was a constitutional issue. If it was, shouldn’t it be properly handled in a constitutional way? If we, Yoruba Muslims, truly want codified Sharia law and Sharia Courts, there are Muslim legislators in virtually all the state Houses of Assembly. Sharia proponents should ask these Muslim legislators to sponsor bills on the matter and lobby their colleagues to pass them into law. Or, if they think it is already in the constitution, and it is their right, let them go to court for enforcement of that right. If I were they and I could not do this, I would keep quiet forever. Extra-legal, unilateral, self-help declarations cannot help them in a democracy.

I once wrote against some Yoruba Pentecostal Christians who said (and still say) my sallah meat is sin. We look at such here and say they’ve packed unwellness with their faith. Yoruba Muslims who jog to the North in search of pity and support are exactly like those ones. They are as misguided as the misguided Pentecostal Christians. They are both working hard to rip open the belly of amity in Yoruba land with their fundamentalism. And they cannot succeed.

Now, what do I think of Imam Eze signing a Live-and-Let-Live statement on Sharia in Yorubaland? An Eze, I assume and presume, is from the South-East. If that signatory is from the South-East, then it was a ghastly error on the part of those who procured him to sign that statement. It was also an insult to the Yoruba, a people with a robust history of engagement with Islam dating back to more than seven hundred years. Procuring outsiders to speak for the Yoruba Muslim is a misnomer. They have leaders; their leaders are the Imams; they listen to the Imams, the Imams listen to them. Channeling the Yoruba spring to flow desert-wards for rejuvenation is an effort that hurts.

The Imam Eze statement will make me draw an analogy: We all know that Ilorin has no physical and spiritual space for Sango, the Yoruba god of thunder. Now, imagine an Ilorin man donning the costume of the Mogba, priest of Sango, and marketing the god of thunder to Oyo Alaafin, Sango’s hometown. Or who does not know that Mùsùlùmí Ìgbò gégé bi OníSàngó Ilorin ni? I will neither interpret nor translate that question. The Eze man should have first launched Sharia for his own home region before looking the Yoruba way. My people say if you think velvet is good and you would clothe me with it, I must first see on you velvet or something superior to velvet. How can the unclad clothe the clothed?

A group of eminent Yoruba Muslim scholars, seven years ago, published a book entitled: ‘Islam in Yorubaland: History, Education and Culture’. The editors were kind enough to give me a copy. Those who are seeking to fetishize Sharia today will learn from those scholars that what they seek to import has actually been part of their heritage before the white man created Nigeria with all its contradictions. Persons who are begging for external help on Sharia should read what the scholars say in that book. They will read the story of a Timi of Ede, Oba Abibu Lagunju (1817-1900), his court and the existence of Ilé Bàbá Kóòtù (compound of baba who holds court) in Ede. They will read also of Oluwo of Iwo, Momodu Lamuye, who became Oluwo of Iwo in 1858 and died in 1906. They will read of why a compound is named Ile Alikali (Alkali’s compound) in Iwo. They will read more of Islam, Sharia and the Yoruba society before colonialism.

Provocation excites and tickles us in this country. In 2016, a bill for a Christian court was sponsored by Hon. Gyang Dung (PDP) from Plateau State and eight other members of the House of Representatives. It scaled the second reading and that was the last we heard of it. The bill was an act of provocation and it was so treated and trashed. The statement from Imam Eze and its associated noise fall in the same category.

The difference between the past and the present is change. We live in a world that shifts with time. The World Bank in 2020 ranked Saudi Arabia as the fastest-reforming country in the world. That country has gone far doing that, redefining the concepts of right and wrong and striking a balance between Islamic law on the one hand; local politics and global economic realities on the other. Today, even rude Donald Trump lowers his voice when the subject is Saudi. Those who have knowledge tell us that the reforms that burnish and refurbish Saudi Arabia do not make that country less Muslim.

It should be the same here. Reform and innovation are at the core of Yoruba’s cultural resilience. That is possibly what the Muslim North has not sat down to study and understand about Western Nigeria.

Let me say finally that making Sharia a hot-button topic in 2025 Nigeria is suspect and very unnecessary. Elections are coming, especially presidential and governorship elections. Flightless birds need the winds of religion to fly their political planes. They will use all magic and talismans to conjure those winds. The sudden interest in Sharia is one talisman that worked wonders in other climes at other desperate times of polls. It cannot work in today’s and tomorrow’s Yorubaland. So, I appeal to the Sultan and other well-meaning Muslim leaders to back off on agitations that seek to use their respected and respectable anvil to forge this idle tool. Adding their weight to weightless claims does no one any good.

The Egbetokun Tenure Extension Controversy: Legality vs. Legitimacy, By Okechukwu Nwanguma

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The Egbetokun Tenure Extension Controversy: Legality vs. Legitimacy, By Okechukwu Nwanguma

In the ongoing controversy surrounding Mr. Egbetokun’s tenure extension, the key issues are not merely legal compliance but the legitimacy of both the legislative process that amended the Police Act and the extension itself.

While the Attorney General’s perspective suggests that Egbetokun may legally remain in office despite surpassing the 60-year age limit, the broader implications of legitimacy are significant. The public outcry concerning the process and the extension should be a primary concern for Egbetokun, especially given the discontent within the Nigeria Police Force (NPF). Many senior officers feel that their career trajectories have been compromised by this extension.

The amendment bill that facilitated this tenure extension originated from President Tinubu, for whom Egbetokun served as chief security officer during his time as governor of Lagos State. Egbetokun’s public expressions of loyalty to Tinubu raise questions about the neutrality of the amendment process, especially when the Nigerian Senate, led by Godswill Akpabio, exhibited a willingness to swiftly carry out the President’s directives. The unprecedented speed at which the bill passed through all legislative readings—complete with no public hearing—further erodes its legitimacy. How can such a critical amendment to the Police Act be enacted without public consultation?

The outcry regarding the amendment process and Egbetokun’s tenure extension is a vital concern for both him and the government, especially if they profess to value due process, transparency, and public trust. Even if the amendment withstands legal scrutiny, questions about its retroactive application remain. Should Egbetokun benefit from an amendment made while he was already in office? This challenges the principle of non-retroactivity in law and raises further legal and ethical considerations.

In conclusion, while legalities may outline the framework of governance, it is the legitimacy of actions taken that will ultimately determine public faith in institutions like the Nigeria Police Force. Egbetokun’s focus should shift from merely defending his legal standing to addressing the very real concerns surrounding the legitimacy of his position and the processes that brought him here.

Okechukwu Nwanguma  

February 1, 2025

Staff members of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University drag Acting VC to EFCC for massive corruption

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Staff members of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University drag Acting VC to EFCC for massive corruption

The Staff members of the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam, Anambra State have petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against Professor Kate Azuka Omenugha, the Acting Vice Chancellor of the university for alleged contract racketeering amounting to public procurement violation, fraud and financial crimes.

In a 27 January 2025 letter addressed to the EFCC Chairman, by Silas, Joseph Onu, Esq., counsel to the petitioners who have elected to remain anonymous, the EFCC was informed that a probe into the “dealings of the Ag. Vice Chancellor with her son and the various companies linked to Mr. Chukwuma Paul Chukwuka, will not only reveal multiple violations of the Public Procurement Act 2007, financial misappropriation and other heinous public financial crimes being perpetrated by the team, but will also expose other unknown fraudulent activities being perpetrated by the Ag. Vice-chancellor.”

The most part of the petition reads:

INTRODUCTION:

Professor Kate Azuka Omenugha is currently the Acting Vice Chancellor of  Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam, Anambra State (formerly known as Anambra State University) and since she assumed that office, which also automatically placed her as the chairman of the University’s Tenders Board, our clients have been witnesses of her reckless disregard for adherence to due process and a penchant for awarding contracts to her son – Mr. Nelson Omenugha and one Chukwuma Paul Chukwuka, who uses multiple companies all registered by him, blatantly. Our clients believe that an investigation into the dealings of the Ag. Vice Chancellor with her son and the various companies linked to Mr. Chukwuma Paul Chukwuka, will not only reveal multiple violations of the Public Procurement Act 2007, financial misappropriation and other heinous public financial crimes being perpetrated by the team, but will also expose other unknown fraudulent activities being perpetrated by the Ag. Vice-chancellor.

Our clients have diligently obtained some evidence of these abuses of public office and financial crimes through the splitting and awarding of contracts for personal gains. Each instance of such infractions is as detailed below:

  1. RE: ALLOCATION FOR YEAR 2024 TETFUND SPECIAL HIGH IMPACT PROJECT INTERVENTION PHASE XIV 2024V/FXS13: DISBURSEMENT OF FIRST TRANCHE OF FUNDS. (annexure)

This intervention is for the sum of four billion naira (N4,000,000,000.00). This intervention was divided into (8) eight lots, which are for 4 constructions contract and 4 consultancy contracts. Attached herein are the evidence of award for contracts lots 1, 2 to Fibelle & Mibble Ltd. And lot 3 to Humblerock Ltd., they are marked accordingly annextures 1,2 and 3.

It is important to note that due process was not followed in splitting and awarding these contracts. The Ag. Vice-chancellor as chairman of the Tenders Board of the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, in cahoots with Mr. Chukwuma Paul Chukwuka – who poses as a contractor, violated the Procurement Act in the award of these contracts in the following ways:

  1. There were no public notifications for expression of bids as required by the Public Procurement Act.
  2. The 4 construction contracts and the 4 consultancy contracts were awarded to Fibelle & Mibble Ltd., Humblerock Ltd., FIDES ET RATIO Ltd., Field Mashal Integrated Engineering Concept Ltd. All registered to Mr. Chukwuma Paul Chukwuka. See the attached Corporate Affair Commission search reports attached as annextures 4, 5, 6 and 7.
  3. Payments have been requested by one of the companies and approved by the Ag. Vice-chancellor. See the request for payment attached as annextures 8 and 9. (Our clients believe that the payments are prioritised and paid without delays)
  4. At the time of these awards, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and other related Anti-graft agencies were already prosecuting the said contractor. The attention of the Ag. Vice-chancellor was called to this information which was in the public domain, but she rebuffed it, because of her vested interest in the contract and the contractor. This is in violation of Part XIl s. 4 (a, b, c and e) of the Public Procurement Act 2007.

2. STAFF BIOMETRIC CAPTURING EXERCISE

The contract for this staff biometric capturing exercise was awarded by the Ag. Vice-chancellor to IMPERIAL ASSOCIATE LIMITED of 7B OBA ADETONA STREET, ILUPEJU, LAGOS.  See attached as annexture 10. This contract was actually awarded by the Ag. Vice-chancellor to her son, Nelson Omenugha in total disregard for conflict of interest. This contract violates Part XI (s. 10) and s. 12 (a, b, c. d, e, f. and g) of the Public Procurement Act 2007. This is an inactive company on the records of the Corporate Affairs Commission. An inactive company means that it has been denying the Government of the Federation taxes for decades. Yet public funds were fraudulently paid to this company.

3. THE UNIVERSITY GATE HOUSE, IGBARIAM CAMPUS

The University perimeter fence at the Igbariam campus collapsed since 2010. The Gatehouse was declared poorly executed in 2013 and the contractor – Mactonnel Associates was blacklisted by the University. However, in 2024, the Ag. Vice-chancellor and her son, embarked on a facelift of the gatehouse without the input of the University’s Director of Physical Planning and, without any valuation by the Council haven been done, as required by law. This gatehouse facelift, alleged to have been carried out by the Ag. Vice-chancellor’s son, Nelson Omenugha has gulped millions of naira ranging from N65m, (Sixty-five million) to N110m (One hundred and ten million naira). This contract violates Part XI (s. 10) and s. 12 (a, b, c, d, e, f, and g) of the Public Procurement Act 2007.

4. SOLAR STREET LIGHTING IN THE COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, AMAKU, AWKA

This contract awarded by the Ag. Vice-chancellor for the sum of N20m (Twenty Million naira) was executed in 2024 by her son, Nelson Omenugha. There was no valuation by the Director of Physical Planning nor was there a bid for the contract. This contract was in violation of Part XI (s. 10) and s. 12 (a, b, c, d, e, f, and g). Two batteries were procured with some solar panels. This project has never worked in the college with the students left in darkness. The contract sum was paid into the account of the Ag. Vice-chancellor’s son by the University. The Ag. Bursar will be able to provide proof of payment and account details.

5. B-ORIENT TABLE WATER

In 2024, the Ag. Vice-chancellor through her children took advantage of her office to enter a business transaction with the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, to sell only their family table water (KONCIO) within the entire University premises. KONCIO table water and KONCIOO Enterprises Ltd. has Kate Azuka Omenugha and her children as Persons with Significant Control of the companies, see attached annexture 11 and 12. This is in violation of Part XI (s. 10) and s. 12 (a, b, c, d, e, f, and g) of the Public Procurement Act 2007. Millions of naira of university funds were paid over to the Ag. VC’s companies under the contract. Furthermore, the University’s vehicles were deployed to the services of the private family business, and attendant expenses including fuelling and maintenance were borne by the university.

When University Council got wind of this gross violation of the procurement process, it directed the termination of the relationship and sale of the table water within the University. However, the Ag. Vice-chancellor in contravention of Part XI (s. 10) and s. 12 (a, b, c, d, e, f, and g) of the Public Procurement Act 2007, circumvented the Council directive and introduced another table water named B-ORIENT Table water and gave it monopoly of the water market within the University. A further investigation and petition by a staff to Council on behalf of the shop owners in the University minimart at the Igbariam campus, got Council to once again direct the stoppage of the sale of B-Orient Table water. But the Ag. Vice-chancellor, has persisted in the act of violation of the conflict-of-interest doctrine of the Public Procurement Act. Here again the company purportedly behind B-ORIENT Table water, ORIENT-WRITERS LIMITED of BLK 9 NEWSITE ABOR, OGBUNIKE, OYI LGA, AMA WA, ANAMBRA, is inactive and illegally operated according to the search report from the Corporate Affairs Commission, see attached annexture 13.

6. PRINTING OF STUDENT IDENTIFICATION CARD

In 2024, the Ag. Vice-chancellor’s son, Nelson Omenugha instructed the Dean of Students Affairs Arch-Deacon Dr. Sunday Achebe to transfer to him the money meant for the printing of identity cards for students. The Dean transferred the sum of N4.5m (Four million, Five Hundred thousand naira) to the account of the Ag. Vice chancellor son, Nelson Omenugha. The identity card was neither printed nor the money refunded. It is alleged that the Ag. Vice-chancellor’s son comes to the Dean’s office every Friday evenings to collect huge stacks of money in Ghana-must-go bags. These are dues and service charges generated by the Students Affairs Directorate, that to be used for running cost of the student’s hostels and other student activities.

7. RE: YEAR 2023 TETFUND ANNUAL INTERVENTION (LOT), CONSTRUCTION OF DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE BUILDING; PASSIONATE APPEAL TO CONSIDER PROJECT AUGMENTATION AS A RESULT OF INFLATION

The contract for the construction of Department of Architecture building was awarded to SOTTAM SYNERGY RESOURCES LTD On 21 July, 2023 which mobilized to site on the 13th September, 2023, with a completion duration of 48 weeks (One year). This contract was awarded at the cost of N414 million (Four Hundred and fourteen million naira) and the funds were made available promptly. The contractor completed 92 percent of the work and was to finish the job and take his remaining 15 percent payment from TETfund. However, when the Ag. Vice-chancellor visited the site; she saw the contract as an avenue to extort money from the university and colluded with the contractor to stop the work. She first proposed that the Contractor be paid N100 million (One Hundred Million naira) of the University’s money to enable him complete the job given and being paid for by TETfund.

This contractor has been working for TETfund and knows that TETfund does not pay variations in their contracts. That was why the contractor almost completed his job before the corrupt manipulations started. The University got a consultant and paid him to value what was needed to complete the contract and the Consultant got the sum of N48m (Forty-eight million). The University gratuitously paid the contractor N58m (Fifty-eight million naira). Yet the contractor was encouraged by the Ag. Vice-chancellor, not to return to site but demand for N100m (One Million naira) which she initially insisted the University must pay to the contractor. Annexure 8 is the company’s ludicrous request for variation and the reasons given. These actions of the Ag. Vice-chancellor and the contractor are in violation of Part XIl s. 4(a, b, c, f and g) of the Public Procurement Act 2007. The appeal for augmentation is attached and marked annexture 14.

CONCLUSION AND PRAYER:

Going by the above submissions with verifiable documentary proof of the alleged infractions perpetrated by the Ag. Vice Chancellor in cahoots with her son, family members and Mr. Chukwuma Paul Chukwuka – who is the front for the many companies involved in the racket, including others not listed above, which are: Fibelle and Mibbelle Energy Resource Ltd.; Fibelle and Mibbelle Academy Ltd.; Fibelle and Mibbelle Foods Ltd.; Humbelrock Iron and Steel Ltd.; Captal Fides Et Ratio Ltd.; and Fides Et Ratio Academy Ltd. – CAC reports of all are herein attached and marked as annextures 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20, respectfully. We hereby petition all the individuals and corporate entities involved in the fleecing of public funds under the pretentious cover of contract awards. Their actions clearly amount to gross violations of the procurement processes and the Public Procurement Act 2007 and undermines the proper administration of the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam, Anambra State.

A thorough investigation will certainly expose more unknown fraudulent activities by the Ag. Vice Chancellor.

We look forward to your swift action to forestall the continuance of this criminal enterprise.

Sincerely,

for: SHIELD AND SWORD CONCSULT.

SILAS, Joseph Onu, Esq.

Managing Consultant.

Ooni’s face-saving intervention forgot the Supreme Court

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Ooni’s face-saving intervention forgot the Supreme Court

By Abimbola Adelakun

The case between Dele Farotimi and Afe Babalola reached a climax when we were informed early on Monday morning that the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, had intervened. Media reports indicated that the traditional ruler and a consortium of elders met Babalola the previous night. Even though the story was reported in multiple media outlets, no journalist appeared to have witnessed it; they only reported what was reported to them. Consequently, the same account of the occasion was repeated almost word for word across media channels without any of the recyclers asking relevant questions, such as who instigated the reconciliation meeting and why Farotimi, the key figure in this case, was remarkably missing from the whole picture.

We thank the Ooni for playing the peacemaker, but the trouble with offering an agboolé -style resolution for issues bordering on the integrity of modern institutions is that they merely put the bubbling crisis in abeyance and ultimately compromise an opportunity to positively strengthen the forces that shape our lives.

Ooni’s intervention resonates meaningfully within the context of our society and its traditions where the egungun was—and still treated as— a part of juridical institutions whose mystique must be preserved. If an egungun is de-robed in public, fellow masked spirits must quickly gather around it and use themselves to protect its nudity from the glaring eyes of the public while leading it out of sight. Protecting its nakedness is about retaining the moral universe of the people who have accepted the masked one as the spirit of their dead ancestor. By stepping up, the Ooni similarly used his moral legitimacy to re-dress an elderly man, a legal institution in himself, who got into a demystifying fight and for whom this face-saving closure was necessary.

That conclusion would have been satisfactory if the matter was just about a contest of wills between the two leading actors. When you really look at it, Babalola was not the only egungun in this dance. The other one is his co-accused, the Supreme Court. By leaving the serious accusation against judges unaddressed, the institution remains exposed to the harsh weather elements of public distrust. Are there ethics, values, and legitimacies composed in our traditional institutions that can be called upon to similarly re-dress the Supreme Court’s demystification? The easiest answer, of course, is to quickly point out that Ooni’s moral jurisdiction does not extend to those modern institutions. It should not be his duty to salvage the face of an institution that has fallen into serial disrepute.

But the question subsists, what of the Supreme Court? Is there still anything left of the supremacy of its ethos that maintains its qualifications to dispense justice to the rest of society? Someone described the resolution as “the best of Yoruba jurisprudence” and it is striking how our people are quick to tout the supremacy of native resolution when what is at stake is the ideals of modern society. This was not merely about a clash between an elder and a stubborn younger man who can be patronisingly “forgiven” but justice as a condition for the continued existence of Nigeria. Babalola pointed out that Farotimi also “attacked” Supreme Court judges, but that is not accurate. The Supreme Court’s systematic self-demystification has been unfurling for years, one election petition at a time.

One of my disappointments with the unfolding of the case was how even the media managed to reduce it to a clash between two men. That failure to look beyond personalities blinded many commenters to the point they reduced the issue to either their annoyance at the disrespect of calling out an elder or mere legal technicalities. If this was about establishing the truth of what went down in the case in contention, this would have been a civil—not criminal—case. Farotimi would not be locked up at the behest of Babalola but given an adequate chance to subpoena those Supreme Court judges he accused of complicity, and they would be compelled to explain the magic by which “10” became “254”.

If the case had been allowed to proceed reasonably, it would have been one of the most interesting in the history of our society because we would be asking the judges who determine our lives to judge their own selves. It would have been a test of their virtues and ability to redeem an institution that is becoming a parody. Instead, what did we get? If Nigeria were a society where the truth matters, commentators on the case would not sit in their lazy chairs asking, “Can he even prove his accusations?” They would be invested in the search for the truth.

Unfortunately, our collective ethics have been so disintegrated that accusing the Supreme Court of corruption did not warrant that urgency to ascertain the truth. It got so bad that none of the television anchors who were dishing out hot takes while the case raged were curious enough to look for a copy of the disputed court judgment to at least offer an informed analysis. Their best effort in making public intervention was to bring in one lawyer after the other to rake over the dead leaves of wilted opinions about the letter of the law. Thank God for Dr Opeyemi Banwo who took the initiative to search for the original copy of the case and analyse it, showing that Farotimi was on to something with his accusations. If you did not read his article titled, The ‘10-Hectare-for-254-Hectare Mistake’ That Sparked the Mother of All Defamation Wars Between Dele Farotimi and Chief Afe Babalola, I urge you to do so.

In a society where people take themselves seriously, not only will the judges involved in this case be summoned to account for changing their judgment, but they will also face intense scrutiny. Every case they have previously determined will be re-examined in the light of the accusation that what they corrected could be more than a clerical error. Real journalists will examine their record of using the “slip rule correction” and debate our judiciary system. Instead, what did we get?

The fact that an individual in Nigeria gets to initiate a criminal case against a fellow Nigerian and then turns around to announce that he has dictated its withdrawal to the police only confirms Farotimi’s contention that some people in this county have an inordinate amount of power that allows them to abuse public institutions.

It was not enough that Babalola got what he wanted, he also had to heighten the drama by reeling out the names of the big people whose solicitations he had previously refused. Of course, he would not have been a successful lawyer if he did not know the value of a good drama. He entertained the audience with several instances of his virtues such as that one time he turned down an offer of an oil block because “the money was too much” and he was already struggling under the weight of what he had already acquired. It was far more interesting that his rejection of that oil block was not because he thought the offer was morally wrong. I wished he mentioned the name of the person who offered him that oil block.

In any case, after spicing things up with a narration of Yoruba history and the necessary valorisation of tradition, he eventually gave in just at the point the occasion hit the climax. Everything ended there, including the gràgrà of the ideologically compromised police who pretended there was nothing to their interest in this matter other than running the errand of the rich and the powerful. In the hands of a seasoned dramatist like Ola Rotimi, the whole affair would have been written into an elegant satire.

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