Obi: Government Doing Everything To Ensure I Do Not Contest In 2027

Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has alleged that forces within the Federal Government are working to prevent him from appearing on the ballot for the 2027 presidential election.
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Speaking on Friday as a guest speaker at a leadership programme organised by NextGen Mentorship and Leadership Initiative at Madonna University, Okija, Obi claimed efforts were underway to stop his participation in the next election, Daily Post reports.

“If you know what they are doing to ensure that I’m not on the ballot in 2027, you will be surprised. Nigerian government is doing everything to ensure that I do not contest in this election, but I’m not looking at the obstacles but at the destination.

“I’m rather focussed at the fruitfulness of the destination and that is what keeps me going,” he said.

Obi also challenged all prospective presidential contenders, including President Bola Tinubu, to a public debate on their plans for the country.

“I challenge any of those contesting to a debate to say what they want to do for this country, including President Bola Tinubu. I’m not saying it to make you happy but to change Nigeria and make it work,” he said.

The former Anambra State governor told the students that he was not driven by personal ambition but by a desire to see the country improve.

Get your PVC
“I’m not desperate to be Nigerian President but desperate to see Nigeria work. Go and obtain your PVC. If you don’t vote, you are hurting your future. When you have your PVC, do not vote for me because I’m an Igbo man. I’m not contesting election because I’m an igbo man, but vote for me because I’m the most qualified.”

Obi also spoke about insecurity across the country, saying: “I will fight to make Nigeria better and end the criminality in Nigeria. There is insecurity in the entire country and everyone is involved, so I want to build a country that works.”

The NDC figure further argued that Nigeria’s challenges stem from a lack of commitment among leaders and what he described as reactionary forces determined to hinder progress.

Reacting to a Federal High Court judgment in Lokoja, Kogi State, which set aside an earlier ruling directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the NDC as a political party, Obi said the setback would not deter him.

“They can not stop me. They will fail. Let me assure you it is not the end of the road. We are committed to this democracy and those who want to kill this democracy are trying to hurt the society.

Peter Obi

“The reactionary elements in Nigeria, those who are bent on holding Nigeria down do not want it to work but I can assure you it would work. I have confidence that I will pull through because the will of the people must prevail,” he declared.

He added: “No where is safe in Nigeria today, yet the people who should help salvage the country are bent on hurting our democracy. My message to all those who mean well for Nigeria and not just my supporters is for us to remain peaceful and continue to resist this tragedy being imposed on Nigeria.”
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ICPC Boss: Corruption Must Be Prevented Through Education, Not Prosecution Alone

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has said corruption can be more effectively tackled through preventive education rather than relying solely on prosecution after offences have been committed.
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The ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Adamu-Aliyu (SAN), stated this at the closing of a two-day workshop on integrating the teaching of anti-corruption into Nigerian universities and the Nigerian Law School on Friday in Kano.

The workshop, themed “Institutionalizing Anti-Corruption in Nigerian Legal Training,” was organised by the ICPC in collaboration with the Nigerian Law School.

Adamu-Aliyu said corruption is often addressed after the damage has already been done, stressing that the fight against the menace should begin with the formation of character and ethical values among future legal practitioners.

“Corruption is rarely defeated in the courtroom after the damage has been done. It is prevented much earlier through the formation of character and values in young professionals,” he said.

According to him, many individuals prosecuted for corruption are educated professionals, making it imperative to strengthen integrity and ethical consciousness among law students before they enter legal practice.

He said the legal profession has a critical role to play in restoring public confidence in the justice system by producing lawyers who are competent, ethical, and committed to justice.

Adamu-Aliyu noted that legal education curricula should produce graduates with both intellectual capacity and moral conscience, urging lecturers to reflect anti-corruption values in both teaching and institutional practices.

The ICPC chairman pledged the commission’s continued support for the initiative, expressing optimism that the proposed framework would produce a new generation of lawyers committed to integrity, accountability, and the rule of law.

Earlier, Prof. Garba Sa’ad of Bayero University, Kano, presented a paper titled “Curriculum Development and Review: Emerging Challenges and the Way Forward.”

He described curriculum development as a continuous process that must respond to changing societal realities, recommending that anti-corruption education be introduced either as a standalone course or integrated into existing law courses such as Criminal Law and the Law of Evidence.

ICPC

Also, Dr Nte Bisong, Deputy Director and Head of the Open and Distance Learning Division of the National Universities Commission, presented a paper titled “The Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS).”

Bisong said incorporating anti-corruption content into the CCMAS for law programmes would produce lawyers who are intellectually proficient, ethically grounded, and committed to the anti-corruption crusade.

NAN reports that the workshop brought together legal educators, curriculum experts, and institutional stakeholders to advance the landmark initiative aimed at embedding anti-corruption values into Nigeria’s legal education framework.
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Alleged $4.5bn Fraud: Court Reserves Ruling On Admissibility Of Emefiele’s Statements Till July 9

Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Friday, June 26, 2026, adjourned proceedings in the alleged $4.5 billion fraud trial involving a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele, and his co-defendant, Henry Omoile, till July 9, 2026, for a ruling on the admissibility of extra-judicial statements allegedly made by Emefiele.
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Emefiele is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on a 19-count charge bordering on receiving gratification and making corrupt demands while serving as Governor of the CBN.

His co-defendant, Omoile, is facing a three-count charge bordering on the unlawful acceptance of gifts by an agent.

Both defendants have pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.

At the resumed hearing on Friday, counsel to the first defendant, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, objected to the admissibility of the extra-judicial statements the prosecution sought to tender, contending that they were not made voluntarily.

Ojo argued that the statements were obtained through oppression as well as physical and mental torture, while his client was allegedly held in the custody of the Department of State Services, DSS, for over 157 days.

Relying on the provisions of Section 4 of the Anti-Torture Act, 2017, and relevant sections of the Evidence Act, he submitted that the statements were involuntary and, therefore, inadmissible in evidence.

“The issue before this Honourable Court is whether the statements credited to the first defendant were made voluntarily,” he argued.

According to him, where the voluntariness of a statement is challenged, a video recording of the interrogation remains the most reliable means of establishing compliance with due process.

He contended that the absence of any such recording rendered the statements unreliable.

Ojo further argued that the prosecution failed to produce independent evidence to support the alleged confessional statements and also questioned the role of the lawyer said to have witnessed the interviews.

He urged the court to reject the statements, submitting that any doubt regarding their voluntariness ought to be resolved in favour of the defendant.

In response, the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, who appeared with Bilikisu Buhari and C. C. Okezie, called the prosecution’s eighth witness, Alvan Gurumnaan, an investigator with the EFCC.

Led in evidence, the witness told the court that Emefiele was invited for questioning and that all the interviews were conducted in the presence of his legal representative.

He further informed the court that the prosecution had voluntarily withdrawn the statement dated October 26, 2023, but sought to tender statements made on October 27, October 30, November 1 and November 2, 2023, as exhibits.

“If the defence does not want that statement, we are prepared to withdraw it. We are withdrawing it not because it was obtained through torture or oppression,” the witness said.

Oyedepo, thereafter, argued that there was no basis for conducting a trial-within-trial, maintaining that none of the remaining statements constituted a confession.

“There is nothing in the defendant’s statements that can be construed as an admission of the facts in issue,” he submitted.

He further argued that the Anti-Torture Act does not make a trial-within-trial mandatory in the circumstances and urged the court to dismiss the defence’s objection and allow the substantive trial to proceed expeditiously.

Earlier in the proceedings, counsel to the second defendant, Adeyinka Kotoye, SAN, informed the court of a pending application seeking leave to appeal an earlier ruling of the court.

Emefiele

The prosecution indicated that it had no objection to the application, following which Justice Oshodi granted the request.

“I hereby grant the second defendant leave to appeal the ruling of the court,” the judge held.

Justice Oshodi, thereafter, adjourned the matter till July 9, 2026, for a ruling on the admissibility of the extra-judicial statements.

The court also fixed October 6, 7 and 8, as well as November 11, 12 and 13, 2026, for the continuation of the substantive trial.
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