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Medical First: UK’s first baby born from transplanted womb of deceased donor

A male baby has become the first child in the United Kingdom to be born after his mother received a womb transplant from a deceased donor, marking a significant development in reproductive medicine.

According to BBC on Tuesday, the baby, Hugo, was delivered just before Christmas 2025 at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital in west London, weighing nearly 7lbs.

His mother, Grace Bell, who is in her 30s, was born without a functioning womb due to Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome — a condition that affects about one in 5,000 women in the UK. Although she has normal ovaries, she does not menstruate and was informed at 16 that she would not be able to carry her own child.

Following the birth, Bell described the moment as extraordinary. “It was simply a miracle,” she said. Recalling the experience, she added, “I remember waking up in the morning and seeing his little face, with his little dummy in, and it felt like I needed to wake up from a dream. It was just incredible.”

Bell underwent a 10-hour transplant procedure at The Churchill Hospital in Oxford in June 2024. Months later, she received in vitro fertilisation treatment at The Lister Fertility Clinic in London before a successful embryo transfer led to the pregnancy.

She and her partner, Steve Powell, named their son Hugo Richard, honouring Prof Richard Smith, the clinical lead at the charity Womb Transplant UK and a consultant gynaecological surgeon at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Smith, who was present at the birth, told PA Media: “It’s been an unbelievable journey. Our whole team has been hanging together now for years and years to make this happen. So to me it’s been fantastic, just amazing.”

In a tribute reported by The Guardian, the donor’s family said the decision to donate had “given other families the precious gift of time, hope, healing and now life.”

They added: “As her parents, we feel tremendous pride at the legacy she leaves behind – a legacy of compassion, courage and love that continues to touch lives even after her passing.”

Medical teams have indicated that the transplanted womb will be removed once the couple decide they have completed their family, to avoid Bell remaining on long-term immunosuppressant medication.

Reports indicate that globally, about 25 to 30 babies have been born following deceased womb donations, while most womb transplants involve living donors.

The UK’s first womb transplant was carried out in 2023 using a living donor. Womb donation is not covered under routine organ donor registration or deemed consent laws, and families must give specific approval.

Rituals, Drugs and a Generation in Crisis: What’s driving Delta’s disturbing youth violence?

A troubling pattern is emerging across communities in Delta State—one that has left families shattered and residents searching for answers.

In recent months, reports have surfaced of young men allegedly attacking those closest to them: a grandmother reportedly raped in Eku; a mother hacked to death on Echi Road; a father allegedly burned alive in Udu; and an Anglican priest, Reverend Isaac Umurie, killed in his sleep in Okpare Olomu, allegedly by his 28-year-old son.

The Delta State Police Command has confirmed several of the cases and says investigations are ongoing. Police Public Relations Officer Bright Edafe acknowledged that some suspects are in custody.

But beyond the criminal investigations lies a deeper societal question: what is driving this disturbing wave of violence among young adults?

The Shrine Connection

Interviews with commercial motorcycle (Okada) and tricycle (Keke) operators in Warri and surrounding communities suggest a shadowy undercurrent.

Several riders told reporters that some youths use coded language—referring to shrines as “locations.” According to them, transport to these “locations” is often well paid and conducted discreetly.

One tricycle operator, Sunday Dare, alleged that certain youths pursuing so-called “Yahoo money”—a term originally referring to internet fraud but now loosely associated with sudden, unexplained wealth—are sometimes given extreme conditions by self-styled spiritualists.

“In some cases, they are told to bring blood from someone close,” he claimed. “To do that, they take drugs first to suppress emotions.”

Another rider echoed similar sentiments, describing how some young men consume heavy narcotics before visiting shrines.

While these claims remain anecdotal and unverified by law enforcement, they reflect a growing public perception that a toxic mix of superstition, get-rich-quick culture and drug abuse may be fueling violent acts.

Substance Abuse in the Spotlight

Local sources say substances such as marijuana—nicknamed “wisdom leaves”—alongside synthetic strains like “Colorado” and “Loud,” as well as tramadol and cocaine mixtures, are widely abused.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has repeatedly warned about the rising prevalence of hard drug consumption among youths nationwide. Community leaders argue that enforcement alone may not be enough.

Security analyst Ibarko Mamus called for community-based intervention structures to complement NDLEA and police efforts. “This cannot be left to federal agencies alone,” he said. “Communities must take ownership.”

Greed or Governance?

Yet beneath the sensational narratives of rituals and narcotics lies another uncomfortable reality: youth unemployment and economic frustration.

Delta State consistently ranks among Nigeria’s highest recipients of Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) revenue due to its oil-producing status and the 13 percent derivation principle. Despite significant inflows, critics argue that infrastructure gaps and job scarcity remain pressing concerns.

Community elder Pa Oghenevwede Amos believes idleness and frustration are central drivers.

“It is depressing for a young graduate to sit at home without work,” he said. “The state and federal governments must engage the youths.”

The question lingers: if opportunities were abundant, if social safety nets were stronger, if mental health and addiction services were accessible—would the outcome be the same?

A Generation at a Crossroads

Criminologists often caution against simplistic explanations. Not all violent crime stems from poverty. Not all drug users become killers. And ritual narratives, while culturally powerful, can obscure underlying psychological or social triggers.

But when multiple cases emerge within a short span—sons allegedly turning on parents, youths accused of extreme acts—society is forced to confront uncomfortable possibilities.

Is this a crisis of values?

A mental health emergency?

A drug epidemic?

Or evidence of governance gaps in a resource-rich state?

Perhaps it is not one factor, but a convergence: economic pressure, social media-driven materialism, substance abuse, weak community oversight and opportunistic criminal elements exploiting vulnerable minds.

Beyond the Headlines

For grieving families, the debate over causation offers little comfort.

For policymakers, however, it may offer direction.

Tackling the problem may require more than arrests—it may demand coordinated investment in youth employment, drug rehabilitation, mental health services, community vigilance and stricter oversight of criminal networks masquerading as spiritual institutions.

Because if Delta’s youth crisis is allowed to fester, the cost will not only be measured in crime statistics.

It will be measured in broken homes—and in a generation that feels abandoned before it ever had a chance to thrive.

Beaches and the Bench: African Bar Association locks in Sal, Cape Verde for 2026 annual conference

The African Bar Association (AfBA) has officially confirmed that its 2026 Annual Conference will take place in Sal, Cape Verde, from September 20–24, 2026—setting the stage for one of the continent’s most anticipated legal gatherings.

In preparation for the high-profile event, AfBA President High Chief Ibrahim Eddy Mark and Executive Director Rudolf Ezeani undertook a fact-finding and inspection visit to Sal from February 22–25, 2026, to assess the island’s readiness to host hundreds of legal professionals from across Africa and beyond.

The delegation was warmly received by the leadership of the Cape Verdean Bar Association, including its President Julio Caeser Martins, Vice President Oliver Araujo, and Bar members Manuel Pina and Vania Cuhna.

During the visit, the AfBA team toured selected hotels and conference facilities earmarked for the event, evaluating logistics, accommodation standards, security arrangements and conference infrastructure. The delegation was later hosted to a dinner in honour of the forthcoming continental gathering.

Why Sal?

According to AfBA officials, the findings strongly affirm Cape Verde’s capacity to host a conference of AfBA’s scale and prestige. Beyond its infrastructure, Sal offers a compelling blend of accessibility, hospitality and scenic appeal.

With its expansive Atlantic coastline, pristine beaches and growing reputation as a premier tourism and business destination, Sal provides a backdrop that combines professional engagement with cultural and recreational experiences.

The 2026 Annual Conference is expected to draw leading jurists, senior advocates, policymakers and legal scholars to deliberate on pressing continental and global issues affecting law, governance and justice systems in Africa.

For the African Bar Association, the choice of Sal signals both strategic vision and symbolic intent—bringing Africa’s legal community together in a setting that reflects dynamism, unity and forward-looking leadership.

As the countdown to September 2026 begins, all eyes now turn to Cape Verde—where Africa’s legal minds will gather, not just to meet, but to shape the future of justice on the continent.

She Played Dead in the Ocean—then lived to expose a war crime

On February 16, 1942, twenty-two unarmed Australian Army nurses were ordered at gunpoint into the sea on Bangka Island in the South China Sea.

Moments later, a machine gun opened fire.

Twenty-one women were killed in the surf.

One survived.

Her name was Vivian Bullwinkel—and for three and a half years, she carried the secret of that massacre inside a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp, knowing that if she spoke, she would be executed.

The Bangka Island Massacre

Four days earlier, Bullwinkel and her fellow nurses had been aboard the SS Vyner Brooke, evacuating Singapore as Japanese forces advanced through Southeast Asia during World War II.

Japanese aircraft bombed the vessel. It sank. Survivors struggled ashore on Bangka Island.

On February 16, Japanese soldiers separated the men from the women. The men were marched into the jungle. Gunfire followed.

The nurses were ordered into the water.

As bullets tore through the group, Bullwinkel felt a shot rip through her body above her left hip. She fell forward into the sea and forced herself not to move. Around her, colleagues were cut down. The water darkened.

She lay face-down, motionless, as soldiers walked the beach to ensure no one survived.

When silence finally fell, she lifted her head.

She was the only nurse alive.

Survival Under Occupation

Wounded and alone, Bullwinkel hid in the jungle, where she encountered another survivor, British soldier Private Ernest Lloyd Kingsley. For twelve days, she used her medical training—without supplies—to treat both their injuries.

Kingsley died from infection.

Bullwinkel then made an extraordinary decision: she surrendered to the same Japanese forces who had just massacred her colleagues.

She told them nothing about what she had witnessed.

For the next three and a half years, she endured brutal conditions in a prisoner-of-war camp in Palembang, Sumatra—malnutrition, disease, forced labor, and constant surveillance. She continued nursing fellow prisoners in secret, risking punishment to provide care.

All the while, she remained silent about Bangka Island.

The Witness Who Spoke

In September 1945, Allied forces liberated the camps.

Emaciated and gravely weakened, Bullwinkel finally told her story.

She became the sole surviving eyewitness to what became known as the Bangka Island massacre. Her testimony later formed part of the evidence presented at postwar trials in Tokyo, where Japanese officers were prosecuted for war crimes connected to the executions.

Without her account, historians say, the massacre of the nurses might have faded into obscurity.

Instead, it entered the official record.

A Life Beyond Survival

After the war, Bullwinkel returned to Australia and resumed nursing. She rose to senior leadership roles in hospitals, worked extensively with veterans, and spent decades honoring the memory of the twenty-one nurses who died beside her.

She spoke publicly not with vengeance, but with clarity—carefully distinguishing between wartime atrocities and entire peoples. Her focus remained on service.

Bullwinkel died on July 3, 2000, at age 84.

The Power of a Single Witness

On that February morning in 1942, twenty-two nurses walked into the sea.

Twenty-one did not walk out.

But because Vivian Bullwinkel survived—because she endured, remained silent when survival demanded it, and spoke when justice required it—their deaths were not erased.

Their killers were held accountable.

And history recorded the truth.

In the face of systematic violence, her survival became testimony.

And her testimony became justice.

Click here to read more.

Fake Law Degree Scandal: Pakistan High Court judge removed after 5 years on the bench

In a stunning ruling that has sent shockwaves through Pakistan’s legal community, the Islamabad High Court has removed one of its own judges after finding that he held a fraudulent law degree—declaring his appointment “void ab initio,” or legally invalid from the start.

In a detailed 116-page judgment issued on February 23, the court ousted Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri, who had been serving on the bench since December 2020. He had already been barred from performing judicial functions in September last year amid growing questions about his credentials.

The court’s findings were blunt: Jahangiri’s educational records were fraudulent, tainted by impersonation, exam malpractice and attempts to evade disciplinary sanctions.

The Fraud Allegations

According to reporting by Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn, the High Court relied on original records provided by the Registrar of the University of Karachi.

The judgment states that Jahangiri first sat for his law examinations in 1988 using a fake enrolment number. He was allegedly caught cheating and subsequently banned by the university in 1989 for three years.

Rather than serving the ban, the court found that he returned the following year under a modified name— “Tariq Jahangiri”—and used an enrolment number assigned to another student, Imtiaz Ahmed.

In a further blow to his defence, the principal of Government Islamia Law College reportedly told the court that Jahangiri “was never admitted” to the institution at all.

“Dilatory Tactics”

The bench noted that, despite multiple opportunities to produce original academic documents and submit a written response, Jahangiri failed to do so.

Instead, he filed applications seeking the formation of a full bench, the recusal of the chief justice and an indefinite adjournment, citing related proceedings before the Sindh High Court.

The Islamabad High Court dismissed these moves as “dilatory tactics,” holding that once the petitioner produced documentary evidence, the burden shifted to Jahangiri to prove the authenticity of his law qualifications.

His failure to provide credible evidence, the court said, warranted an adverse inference.

Legal Fallout

By declaring his law degree void from the beginning, the court effectively ruled that his eligibility to practice law, and by extension his appointment as a High Court judge, was legally non-existent.

The decision raises urgent questions about judicial vetting processes and the integrity of appointments to Pakistan’s higher judiciary.

Legal analysts say the ruling could have ripple effects, particularly if litigants challenge past decisions in cases where Jahangiri presided.

For now, the message from the Islamabad High Court is unequivocal: the authority to interpret the law cannot rest on fraudulent credentials.

And in one of the most dramatic judicial reckonings in recent memory, the bench has drawn a hard line between judicial power and academic deceit.

Has El-Rufai’s gimmickry finally failed him?

By Abimbola Adelakun

Perhaps to his own surprise, former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El Rufai, has been in detention for more than a week, and the sky has yet to fall. From the unsolicited update given by his media aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, it seems he has been dealt with a fraction of the violations of legal processes ordinary Nigerians are regularly subjected to at the hands of constituted authorities. They have searched his house, an application for bail was rejected, and the mystique he has sought to project by taking on the presidency has been severely whittled. How did that happen to someone especially gifted at thrusting himself forward and snagging the national limelight?

For a man who manages to maintain social relevance by making incendiary claims when he is not close to political power, he seemed to have overestimated how well his old tricks would serve his politics this time. After having had too much to eat, he wrote a public letter to the Office of the NSA claiming he sought “clarification and reassurance” regarding reports “available to political opposition leadership” that the government had obtained thallium sulphate (a highly toxic and tightly regulated substance) from Poland. Now, I do not know for a fact whether the NSA obtained such a substance, but I can read between the lines of El-Rufai’s mischief to ask: why will the NSA go through the trouble of eliminating political opponents when they have almost succeeded in buying them over, and far more cheaply too? You see, El-Rufai’s miscalculation is what happens when you rely on the same set of gimmicks all the time and fail to improvise to meet the changing dynamics.

This was the same guy who, along with some others, reportedly created the fictitious “cabal” around ailing President Umaru Yar’Adua. They sold the story of how the shadowy cabal, led by his wife, Turai, had hijacked the man in his vulnerable state and whipped the whole nation into a frenzy. “Cabal” became a buzzword that year, only for us to later learn that El-Rufai and others created the story to weaken the first lady’s moral position in public. Years later, in a leaked audio, El-Rufai reportedly accused Yar’adua of wanting to kill him, saying, “You know, there were plans to inject me with a combination of Hepatitis and HIV if I returned to Nigeria. This is what I heard. I don’t know whether it is true or not true. But the fact that I am alive and he is dead, I should be grateful to God. Everyone has his own fate and destiny.”

Under Dr Goodluck Jonathan, the same El-Rufai alleged that he was the seventh on a “hit list” of targets to be executed by snipers. If we do not know his penchant for mischief, one would be forgiven for imagining he suffers delusion complex. Who are you that presidents serially want you dead?! Again, that “sniper” accusation was another story that gained traction and perhaps contributed to the animosity towards Jonathan. When you look at the pattern of his allegations, you will see that the only presidency that has not tried to kill El-Rufai since 1999 is the one that has either given him lush political appointments or the one under whom he held a profitable elective position. When he sits at the table of power, he has little to bellyache about. When they do not reckon with him, he becomes an emergency social activist. There was an exception, though. While he was governor, he wrote a memo to Muhammadu Buhari, highlighting all the failures of his administration. Reminding a failed president of his mandate would have been considered noble; typical of El Rufai, he used it to draw attention to himself. He—although he denies it—leaked the memo to the press just so he could play the good guy. He could already see the Buhari political force waning, and that memo was his way of creating an alibi for the day he would need to distance himself from Buhari’s failures.

Do not be fooled by the reason he gave for seeking information regarding the Thallium Sulphate; El-Rufai does not believe in public safety, democratic accountability, or maintaining public trust. When he was challenged on his allocation of plots of land to his family while he was FCT minister, nothing in his arrogant response suggested he cared for either democratic accountability or public trust. Where was “public safety” when he boasted about sending election observers back in “body bags”? Where was “democratic accountability” when he was dismissive of the Shiites’ massacre that happened under his watch?

All these years, he remained mute about the fate of Abubakar Idris Dadiyata, leaving it to his sons to post cryptic messages on social media. El-Rufai only deemed it fit to respond now that he needs to score political points. He is not the first Muslim governor of Kaduna state, but his anti-Christian bigotry was legendary. He is probably the first governor to admit on television that he has been paying kidnappers. It was that same self-assurance, that arrogance, that lack of regard for public sensibilities that drove him to go on television and boldly claim to have conspired to tap the NSA’s phone and listen to private or official communications. It is quite possible he was not telling the truth, but he walked into his own trap.

Does the Federal Government have a serious case against him regarding his claims of wiretapping? I do not honestly think so. They probably know he was merely bluffing when he claimed he listened to the NSA’s conversations, but they will keep him long enough to incapacitate him so he will pose no serious threat to their 2027 ambition. By the time they are done with him, he will not only be politically diminished but also financially crippled. Do not be surprised if he does a Reno Omokri 180 and goes to prostrate before the president in Aso Rock.

His present travails should—and will—be filed under the long list of human rights violations of which the present administration is guilty, but the truth is that I received the news with the same indifference as I did the report of ex-Attorney General, Malami Abubakar, who had also alleged that he was a victim of administrative high-handedness. This is not because I support abuse of political power, but their fate is not a lesson for regular Nigerians who already know, from experience, what an abusive government can do. If you have been one of the routine victims of this repressive government, El Rufai’s situation has nothing to teach you. The lesson is for him and his fellow politicians who routinely abuse power and privileges while serving in the government, only to become victims of their own serial violations once they are on the other side.

El-Rufai’s current situation is a parable of how the pendulum of power swings in Nigeria, and why we should all insist on due process, because one just never knows. Vice President Atiku Abubakar warned the FG that they would be held accountable if any harm came to El-Rufai in custody. A better piece of advice is that El Rufai had better stay alive because, if anything happens to him, he will not be a martyr as Atiku imagines. There will be no consequences, just as he, too, has not been accountable for what happened to Dadiyata under his watch.

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

Tiger Base atrocities draw international attention as Amnesty International launches landmark report in Enugu

By Chinedu Agu

At the invitation of Amnesty International, I had the honour of serving as a resource person and panellist at the launch of its landmark report on Wednesday, 25 February 2026, titled “Tiger Base of Atrocities: Human Rights Violations by Nigeria Police Anti-Kidnapping Unit in Owerri.”

The report was formally presented in Enugu today before a distinguished audience of civic actors, members of the Bar, and human rights defenders, including Okechukwu Nwanguma, Executive Director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, and Marjorie Ezihe.

Today’s launch signals something significant: The campaign against Tiger Base is no longer local. It has crossed borders. It has attracted sustained international attention. Hope is no longer abstract, it is materialising.

Recall that on 15 December 2025, onbehalf of CAPTI [Coalition Against Police Tigerbase Inpunity] in Abuja, Omoyele Sowore and I launched the 97 page Tiger Base report. Since that moment, the issue has steadily garnered international interest. Today’s intervention by Amnesty International affirms that the world is watching.

The report is extensive and deeply troubling. It documents, among other findings within Tiger Base:

  1. Prolonged arbitrary detention without trial [page 9];
  2. Denial of access to family members and lawyers [page 11];
  3. Extortion and extortion-driven investigations [page 12];
  4. Court orders enabling unconstitutional detention churned out in Magistrate Courts in Imo [page 14];
  5. Inhuman and degrading detention conditions [pg 16];
  6. Enforced disappearance of children arrested with their mothers [page 18];
  7. Torture and other ill treatment [page 20];
  8. Death in detention [page 24];
  9. Arbitrary arrests and detention [page 28]; and
  10. Enforced disappearances [page 29]

In preparing the briefing, Amnesty International conducted three research missions between May and October 2025 and February 2026 in Owerri, Imo State. The findings are based on interviews with 23 individuals, including 14 women who were victims of prolonged arbitrary detention, torture, extortion, forced labour, and extortion driven investigations.

The organisation also reviewed court documents, autopsy reports, petitions, and reports from Nigerian human rights organisations.

The evidence is methodical, and the testimonies harrowing.

One victim of prolonged arbitrary detention without trial stated: “I was held in Tiger base for 2 years, 2 months, and 8 days from 10 October 2023 to 16 December 2025. My family members who came to bail me were detained, my step mother for 8 months, Mr. SCCC for 10 months, Mr. YYY for 8 months. He died two weeks after his release.”

She continues: “All of us, including the one year old child, were detained at Tiger base. My step mother was released on bail after three days, but Tiger base officials took the baby away. To this day, the baby has never been seen again.”

Another survivor recounted: “I saw them bring in two young boys. I was watching from inside the cell. As soon as they arrived, the officers chained them, went inside their office and then came back with a locally made gun, a machete, and another weapon. They put all those items in the boys’ hands and took pictures. The boys kept saying they hadn’t done anything and that the weapons weren’t theirs, but the officers ignored them and started beating them. That was how they later paraded them as IPOB members.”

Another testimony reveals: “The IPO seized my ATM card from my bag. He called a POS operator inside the compound and forced me to give him my PIN. He withdrew all the money in my account, N30,000, and never returned it.”

A woman detained for over two years narrated: “My family paid over thirty million naira to Tiger base officials. My brother in law who lives abroad sent the money in several instalments while trying to negotiate our release, but it made no difference. They kept demanding more and made promises they never kept. When the Tiger base commander lost his father, my family even contributed two million naira towards the burial, hoping it would persuade him to release us. Still, nothing changed.”

A 34 year old mother made perhaps the most devastating revelation: “I was arrested on 8 October 2023 with my three children. When I tried to leave my children with my neighbour, they refused. They chained my hands and chained my children. We were put in their vehicle and taken to Tiger base. They even shared the drinks they took from my fridge. They kept us behind the counter for about three days. After that, the officers took my three children away. That was the last time I saw them. They only told me the children had been taken to where they were supposed to be, then pushed me into the cell. Since 11 October 2023, I have not seen the three children I was arrested with. I have not seen my children in over two years.”

On court orders enabling unconstitutional detention, the report states: “Some Magistrates conspire with Tiger Base officials to detain people indefinitely. Tiger base operatives detain people indefinitely. Yet the ACJL of Imo State provides for a 14 day remand period, and if there is a reason for continued custody, perhaps for further investigation, the prosecutor is required to apply for renewal of that remand order for another 14 days. After that, the Magistrate should grant bail, except in exceptional circumstances where the Magistrate believes detention is still necessary. In such cases, the law allows a final 10 days, making a total of 42 days. The law clearly envisaged that nobody should be in detention for up to two months, but they are rarely willing to activate that part of the law.”

As a panelist, I remarked that this observation about some lower courts reflects lived courtroom reality. Courts are often reluctant to grant bail or strike out charges where defendants are products of Tiger Base detention. In some instances I have witnessed as counsel in court, when bail applications are made, the court rises abruptly, retires to chambers to make calls, and returns almost immediately to rule that bail cannot be granted. This happens even when the DPP report has been awaited for months, even where there is no complainant, even where the state has shown manifest indiligence.

In some instances, a bench ruling that ought to be delivered immediately a bail application is made is deliberately adjourned repeatedly, ostensibly to afford the State the opportunity to file an information. When counsel eventually appears in court on the scheduled date for ruling, the Magistrate announces, almost with malevolent relief, that an information has now been filed and that the court consequently lacks jurisdiction to deliver the ruling on the bail application. If this is not judicial complicity in prosecution, what else can it be called?!

I have personally witnessed a situation where a court scolded a state counsel for not opposing a bail application. The state counsel eventually opposes, and the court immediately rules and denies bail. One begins to question how an impartial arbiter comes to assume prosecutorial posture.

The complicity of certain lower courts is no longer subtle. It is brazen. It is executed with impunity, as though institutional checks have evaporated.

The significance of today cannot be overstated. From Abuja on December 15 under CAPTI, to Enugu under Amnesty International, the arc of this advocacy is bending toward accountability.
International attention has been triggered. Documentation is now global. Testimonies have left the shadows. The campaign against Tiger Base has begun to garner the weight of international scrutiny. And when scrutiny becomes sustained, reform is no longer impossible.

Chinedu Agu
[email protected]

Asset Declaration Storm: Nigeria’s Federal High Court Chief Judge accused of failing to disclose multiple bank accounts

Nigeria’s Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Hon. Justice John Terhemba Tsoho, is facing allegations that he failed to disclose several bank accounts in his latest asset declaration, a potential breach of the country’s Code of Conduct regime that governs public officers.

A month-long investigation involving document reviews and interviews indicates that in the asset declaration form submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau on April 29, 2024, Justice Tsoho did not list multiple bank accounts allegedly under his control.

According to documents reviewed, three accounts domiciled with United Bank for Africa and one account with Access Bank were not disclosed in the filing, despite legal requirements mandating full transparency of assets, including bank accounts and balances.

Repeated attempts to reach Justice Tsoho for comment were unsuccessful. Calls were not answered, and messages requesting clarification went unanswered as of press time.

What the Law Requires

Under Nigeria’s Code of Conduct framework, public officials must declare all assets, properties and liabilities immediately upon assuming office and at periodic intervals thereafter.

Section 15 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act states that any false statement or omission in an asset declaration constitutes a breach of the law.

If an asset is acquired after a declaration and cannot reasonably be attributed to legitimate income, gifts or approved loans, the law presumes it to have been unlawfully acquired — unless proven otherwise.

Conviction by the Code of Conduct Tribunal carries severe penalties, including:

  • Removal from office
  • Disqualification from holding public office for up to 10 years
  • Forfeiture of improperly declared assets

Tribunal decisions are appealable to the Court of Appeal.

At the time of publication, it remains unclear whether the findings will trigger formal investigations by the Bureau or other anti-corruption agencies.

Echoes of the Onnoghen Precedent

Any prosecution would inevitably draw comparisons to the 2019 conviction of former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, who was removed from office after being found guilty of failing to declare several bank accounts.

Onnoghen’s accounts were ordered forfeited by the tribunal. However, in November 2024, the Court of Appeal reversed the conviction following a settlement agreement with the federal government.

Legal observers say a similar case involving a sitting Chief Judge of the Federal High Court would carry profound institutional implications.

A Career Under Scrutiny

Justice Tsoho was appointed acting Chief Judge in July 2019 by then Chief Justice of Nigeria, Tanko Muhammad. He was later confirmed substantively following a recommendation by the National Judicial Council and approval by then-President Muhammadu Buhari.

Born in Benue State in 1959, he rose through Nigeria’s judicial ranks after being called to the Bar in 1985.

But his tenure has not been free of controversy.

In 2023, critics questioned his refusal to grant a detention order against former Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele during a high-profile corruption probe. In late 2024, he also faced backlash after reassigning a sensitive receivership case involving financial institutions and the Nestoil Group.

Separate allegations circulating among critics include claims of age discrepancies in his official records. Those claims remain unproven. Under Nigeria’s Penal Code, proven falsification of age records could potentially attract forgery charges.

Justice Tsoho has not publicly addressed these accusations.

Judiciary Under Pressure

The allegations surface amid broader internal scrutiny within Nigeria’s judiciary.

The National Judicial Council, chaired by Chief Justice of Nigeria Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has launched what sources describe as a discreet but wide-ranging probe into petitions against several senior judges.

Justice Kekere-Ekun has pledged sweeping reforms aimed at restoring public confidence in the judiciary, and multiple judges have faced compulsory retirement or sanctions in recent months.

Whether the allegations against Justice Tsoho will escalate into formal proceedings before the Code of Conduct Bureau or Tribunal remains uncertain.

But if substantiated, the case could test the judiciary’s willingness to police its own,  and potentially reshape the conversation around accountability at the highest levels of Nigeria’s bench.

$43.51m Dividend Battle: Court orders Indimi’s Oriental Energy to pay twin daughters

Nigeria’s Federal High Court has ordered Oriental Energy Resources Limited, the oil company founded by billionaire businessman Muhammadu Indimi, to pay $43.51 million to his twin daughters following a fierce legal battle over unpaid dividends that has exposed deep cracks in their family.

According to The Africa Report, the two daughters, Ameena and Zara Indimi, instituted legal action against the family-owned oil company, accusing it of unlawfully excluding them from dividend payments arising from its highly profitable offshore oil operations.

Court filings showed that the dispute centred on the sisters’ claim to a combined 10 per cent equity stake in Oriental Energy, which they argued entitled them to a share of dividends tied to approximately $435.1 million allegedly declared by the company.

The twins further alleged that their individual shareholdings were significantly diluted under circumstances they said effectively denied them their rightful financial benefits.

By ordering the payment of $43.51 million, the court effectively upheld the daughters’ position that outstanding funds were owed to them, intensifying a bitter family conflict that has now shifted from internal corporate disagreements into full public and judicial scrutiny.

Oriental Energy, a privately owned Nigerian exploration and production company with major offshore operations in the Niger Delta, has long been a cornerstone of Indimi’s vast business empire.

The company is regarded as one of the most prominent indigenous players in Nigeria’s upstream oil sector, an industry where ownership structures and financial arrangements are often shielded from public view.

The case has drawn widespread attention partly because of the enormous sums involved and partly due to Indimi’s status as one of Nigeria’s most influential oil magnates, with extensive interests spanning energy and finance.

What might ordinarily have remained a private family disagreement has instead evolved into a high-profile legal confrontation raising broader questions about governance, succession planning, and shareholder rights within family-controlled corporations.

Reports indicate that the disagreement extends beyond the twins, with lingering tensions within the wider Indimi family over control of company holdings and whether previous financial transfers to certain relatives constituted gifts, buyouts, or settlements that nullified future dividend entitlements.

Although full details of how the court arrived at the $43.51 million figure and the timeline for compliance were not immediately disclosed, the ruling is expected to significantly alter the balance of power in ongoing negotiations among family members and company stakeholders.

In 1990, OPL 224 was awarded to Oriental Energy Resources Limited by the Federal Government of Nigeria with a mandate requirement to acquire a minimum of up to 1000 km of seismic data and to drill at least three exploratory wells.

Oil Prospecting Licence, OPL is a license granted by the government to companies, giving them the exclusive right to explore and prospect for oil within a specific area.

In the course of its operation, Oriental Energy entered into a Technical Services Agreement with DuPont Nigeria Ltd, according to information from its website, acquired the committed 2D seismic survey as well as drilled four wells including the Ufon discovery well.

This continued until the first half of the 1990s.

“At the end of the decade, the Nigerian Department of Petroleum Resources gave an approval to convert OPL 224 to OML 115 on 20 May 1999, as a result of the successful work done on the Block. OML 115 was reduced to 248 km² from its original size of 310 km² as a result of international boundary redefinition,” Indimi was quoted by BusinessDay as telling journalists in 2025.

In early 2000s, the growth of Oriental Energy proceeded quickly. Ebok marginal field (May 2007) and Okwok marginal field (2006) were awarded to Oriental Energy Resources Limited from ExxonMobil’s OML 67, through a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) between the Nigerian government and ExxonMobil under the Marginal Fields Scheme, as a compensation for the loss of acreage to ExxonMobil Equatorial Guinea.

Strategic alliances followed with Addax Petroleum (Okwok), Nexen E&P Services Nigeria Ltd. (OML 115), and Energy Equity Resources Oil & Gas (OML 115).

In March 2011, Oriental Energy received approval from the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the establishment of the Ebok Terminal for the offloading of crude oil.

By the end of March 2011, the production, processing, and storage facilities were installed at the Ebok field and readied for first oil. By the end of 2011, the Ebok field had produced approximately 3.0 million barrels of oil.

Justice Oyewole’s Swearing-in restores Supreme Court to full strength

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, on Wednesday, swore in the newly appointed justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Joseph Oyewole.

Oyewole’s elevation restored the apex court to its full 21-justice complement provided under Section 230(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

The CJN, who administered the Oath of Allegiance and the Judicial Oath on the new jurist at a ceremony that was held at the Supreme Court, said the occasion carried “an added institutional importance”, as the court would be further strengthened to tackle the backlog of cases awaiting judicial attention.

“This is no small milestone. A full court enhances our capacity to sit in robust panels, to manage our docket more efficiently, and to ensure that the business of the nation’s apex court proceeds with renewed vigour and dispatch. It enriches intellectual diversity and reinforces the stability of our jurisprudence.

“For a court whose pronouncements shape the legal destiny of the nation, numerical completeness is structurally significant to the effective discharge of our constitutional mandate.

“Appointment to this court is not simply the culmination of professional distinction; it is the acceptance of a sacred national responsibility. The Supreme Court stands at the apex of our judicial architecture.

“Its pronouncements settle controversies, shape the development of our jurisprudence, and define the contours of constitutional governance.

“Its judgements do not speak only to the parties before it; they speak to generations yet unborn. The authority of this court rests not on force, but on the moral weight of its reasoning, the discipline of its processes, and the integrity of men and women privileged to serve on its bench,” the CJN stated.

She maintained that Justice Oyewole’s elevation was a testament to his years of disciplined scholarship, fidelity to the law, and distinguished service on the bench.

“Your judicial record reflects intellectual depth, independence of thought, clarity of expression, and a clear appreciation of the relationship between enduring legal principles and evolving social realities.

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“These are qualities indispensable to the work of this court, where issues are often complex and where the margin for error is narrow but the consequences of every decision far-reaching.

“At this level, the judicial function transcends the resolution of disputes. It demands stewardship, careful guardianship of precedent, principled development of the law, and unwavering allegiance to constitutional supremacy.

“A Justice of this Court must possess the courage to affirm settled doctrine where stability demands it and the wisdom to refine it where justice and constitutional fidelity so require,” she added.

Besides, the CJN urged the new jurist not to be afraid of expressing a divergent opinion on cases that are brought before the court.

She said, “Your Lordship is called upon to decide according to law and conscience, free from fear, favour, affection, or ill will.

“Where your Lordship’s considered conviction differs from that of your brother justices; Your Lordship must have the courage to dissent with courtesy and precision.

“A principled dissent, expressed with intellectual honesty, is not a fracture of unity; it is often the seed of future doctrinal growth.

“The oaths Your Lordship has taken represent a covenant, binding in conscience and in law. It demands moral courage when decisions are unpopular, restraint when passions run high, and steadfastness when pressures, subtle or overt, seek to intrude upon judicial independence.

“At this level of adjudication, scrutiny is intense and commentary often instantaneous. Your compass must remain fixed upon the Constitution and the law,” the CJN added.

Prior to his elevation to the Supreme Court, Justice Oyewole served as the presiding justice of the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division.

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