News

Rivers Proxy Battle Between Nyesom Wike, Simi Fubara Before Supreme Court: Chidi Odinkalu

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1 year ago

January 26, 2025

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Rivers Proxy Battle Between Nyesom Wike, Simi Fubara Before Supreme Court: Chidi Odinkalu

Rivers proxy battle between Nyesom Wike and Simi Fubara before dupreme court. One important difference, though, is that the issues in Rivers State today hardly involve principle or the public interest.

Depending on one’s perspective, February 10, 2025, promises to be Proxy Wars Day at the Supreme Court of Nigeria in Abuja.

On that day, a panel of five Justices will hear arguments on seven appeals connected with the synthetic political crisis in Rivers State.

The issues that the court will be asked to decide include the validity of last October’s local government elections in the state, the fate of the faction in the Rivers State House of Assembly that claims to have switched affiliations from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (after being elected on the platform) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the legality of the state’s 2025 budget passed by the rump of the state House of Assembly, and the effort to importune judges into denying Rivers State access to its share of the federation account.

The effort to frame these as legal issues is transparently valiant.

Despite the shameful conversion of judges into politicians in the Rivers State crisis—or indeed because of precisely that fact—the imminence of Rivers State Proxy Wars Day at the Supreme Court is evidence of what has gone wrong with Nigeria’s judicial system and why fixing it is essential for the health of Nigeria’s attempt at government with electoral legitimacy.

This is not the first time that legal disputes about power and how to share the spoils from it have ended up at the highest court in the land.

That tendency in Nigeria is over a century old. It arguably goes back to the 1921 judgment of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the case of Amodu Tijani over the effort by the colonial authorities to split Herbert Heelas Macaulay from his support for Eshugbayi Eleko, the Oba of Lagos.

To hear those cases before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in 1920, Herbert Macaulay travelled to London with the Oba’s Staff of Office in support of Amodu Tijani and the Idejo Chiefs of Lagos.

From London, he issued a statement claiming that the Eleko was the King of over 17 million Nigerians and in possession of territory more than three times that of Great Britain.

Despite a healthy revenue of over £4 million, he claimed, the British had reneged on a treaty commitment to compensate the Eleko.
Embarrassed at being publicly called duplicitous in this way, the British required the Eleko to disown Herbert Macaulay.

He issued a public statement clarifying his position on Herbert Macaulay’s statement but declined to disown him through the Oba’s Bell Ringers, as the Brits required.
Unable to secure the popular Eleko’s support, the colonists decided to head off rising tension by deposing him.

On 6 August 1925, they issued an ordinance de-stooling him, and two days later, on 8 August, they arrested and removed Eleko for internal banishment in Oyo. In his place, they installed Oba Ibikunle Akitoye.

Oba Akitoye’s rule lasted an uncomfortably brief three years, largely because he lacked the support of the people of Lagos. Indeed, in 1926, he suffered a physical assault by his people.

Supported by the elite and people of Lagos, the deposed Eleko took his case to the courts, fighting again to the Privy Council, which decided on 19 June 1928 in favour of his claim for leave for a writ of habeas corpus. This sealed the fate of Oba Akitoye, suspected to have facilitated his earthly demise shortly thereafter.

The crisis in Rivers State shares some unsettling similarities with the events in Lagos nearly one century ago.

In Rivers today, as in Lagos then, a powerful man – in this case, the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and immediate past governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike – seeks to banish the current governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, from office using surrogates beholden to him in the state House of Assembly.

One important difference, though, is that the issues in Rivers State today hardly involve principle or the public interest. Framed though they are in legalese, these cases from Rivers State are about power and money grab.

This is not a first. It is the standard procedure of the current FCT Minister to seek to inveigle judges into acting as his political surrogates under a ruse of law.

In instigating this crisis, Mr Wike suffered a characteristic failure of his frontal lobe. He forgot his public vow to “give himself that respect” and not interfere in the affairs of the state after his exit from the office in May 2023. Rather, since leaving office as the state governor, Mr Wike has sought to install himself as the minister in Abuja and sole administrator in Port Harcourt.

He makes no effort to conceal that much of what passes as his political dare-devilry appears to be accomplished under the influence of sufficiently gluttonous amounts of dangerous beverage to entitle him to access to a defence of automatism in criminal law.

In October 2024, he told Seun Okinbaloye on Channels Television with undisguised hubris that the only solution to the crisis in Rivers State was for the incumbent governor to “obey court judgment.”

This was no advocate for the rule of law, however. Instead, Mr. Wike projected an air of political impregnability purchased with a currency bearing a distinct whiff of procured judicial cookery.

This is not entirely unexpected of an ambitious Nigerian politician without an alternative address (apologies to Deji Adeyanju). What is more difficult to overlook is the high judicial tolerance for the undisguised political importuning of judges.

Nigeria’s judicial system has been overtaken by a category known as “political cases.” In November 2023, former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola, reported that his Supreme Court registered 1,271 motions and appeals from September 12, 2022, to July 11, 2023. The court “heard 388 political appeals, 215 criminal appeals and 464 civil appeals.”

Two years earlier, in 2021, Ariwoola’s predecessor, Tanko Muhammad, reported that the court’s portfolio of 269 appeals disposed of included 139 civil appeals, 102 criminal appeals, and 28 “political cases”.

Nyesom Wike

According to CJN Ariwoola’s report, the court “delivered a total number of 251 judgments, of which 125 were political appeals, 81 were civil appeals, and 45 were criminal appeals.” The court’s output fell by 6.69% in just two years, but “political cases” rose from 10.67% to 49.8%. Even allowing for the fact that 2023 was an election year, this is a system collapse.

Nigeria’s judges appear to have decided that politicians are the only people entitled to exit from the courts. In turn, the politicians are happy to enjoy this exclusivity and to overwhelm the courts to the point that even judges now complain. They hire the priciest lawyers to frame undisguised power and money grabs as questions of law.

The Supreme Court can end this, but it is reluctant. Instead, the court affords powerful politicians the tolerance they are unwilling to extend to lesser mortals, preferring to enable this joint enterprise of senior lawyers and politicians. At the same time, it fetters its capacity to determine what should be a question of law deserving of its rarefied attention.

This sucks for many reasons. It prostitutes the bench, casualizes the constitutional guarantee of fair trial “within a reasonable time,” and portrays the judiciary as captured.

To describe this as Supreme pusillanimity is to be generous. It is a form of judicial lasciviousness syndrome, promenading judicial wares before political gawkers in a peonage system where the only effective currency is high political patronage.

The Supreme Court can make a bold statement in these Rivers State cases. It should be ready for many more proxy war days if it doesn’t.

Economy

Lagos Assembly Strongly Seeks Suspension Of Makoko Demolition

Published

9 hours ago

February 3, 2026

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Lagos Assembly Strongly Seeks Suspension Of Makoko Demolition

Lagos assembly strongly seeks suspension of Makoko demolition. The Lagos state house of assembly has called for the suspension of demolition activities in Makoko, Oko-Agbon and Shogunro waterfront communities following protests by displaced residents and growing public concern over the exercise.

The call was announced on Tuesday by Noheem Adams, chairman of an ad hoc committee set up by Mudashiru Obasa, speaker of the house, during a stakeholders’ meeting held at the Lateef Jakande auditorium.

Adams called on all state ministries to cease demolition work and promised compensation to the affected residents.
“On behalf of the speaker and all 40 members of the house, we are directing that all demolitions in Makoko, Oko-Agbon, and Shogunro communities should stop from today until further notice,” New Telegraph quoted Adams as saying.

He called for transparency by demanding the full list of taskforce members and the criteria used for engagement, insisting that residents must be actively involved in the process.

“That the taskforce that was constituted, we want to see the list of the taskforce because we want the residents to be duly involved and to be carried along. So we want to have the schedule of those task forces and the criteria for those that we are inviting,” Adams added.

Lagos Assembly

“To the residents of Makoko, Oko-Agbon and Shogunro communities, as your representatives, we are giving you all assurances that they will stop demolitions henceforth and there will be compensations for all those whose properties have been demolished.”

Stephen Ogundipe, member of the ad-hoc, said there is need for clear communication, adding that residents targeted for relocation or redevelopment must be informed of the government’s plans in advance.

Babatunde Olajide, special adviser to governor of Lagos on E-GIS and urban renewal, confirmed that $2 million had been earmarked since 2021 to transform Makoko into a modern, internationally compliant water city.

He said enumeration of affected properties is underway and reiterated the administration’s commitment to handling the situation with a human face, prioritizing resident safety and fair compensation.

Yusuf Sagra, baale of Makoko, described the assembly’s decision as a “word of peace,” while Orioye Ogungbure, another leader of the community, praised the “democratic responsiveness” of the government.

International

2026 GFP Report: Nigeria’s Navy Ranked Strongest In Africa, 22nd Globally

Published

9 hours ago

February 3, 2026

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2026 GFP Report: Nigeria’s Navy Ranked Strongest In Africa, 22nd Globally

2026 GFP Report: Nigeria’s Navy ranked strongest in Africa, 22nd globally. The Nigerian naval fleet has been ranked the strongest in Africa, according to a 2026 Global Firepower (GFP) report.

The ranking is based on each country’s conventional war-fighting capability across land, sea, and air.

Nigeria shares maritime boundaries with the Republic of Benin, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, and Sao Tome and Principe, all located in the Gulf of Guinea, along an estimated 853 km coastline.

The waters also cover Nigeria’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which extends 220 nautical miles offshore and contains resources such as oil and aquatic life.

However, piracy and disputes remain persistent challenges.
Patrol boats, numbering 132, make up the bulk of the country’s 152 naval assets. The fleet is also credited with two mine warfare ships and one frigate.

Mine warfare can be deployed to deny access to strategic waterways or support siege-type operations around harbours and ports, while frigates have deep-water capabilities and can support rotorcraft.

The patrol boats consist of offshore patrol vessels, gunboats, missile boats, and fast-attack craft, designed for shallow-water operations.

The GFP report noted that Nigeria lacks aircraft carriers, submarines, corvettes, and destroyers.
Globally, the country was ranked 22nd.

In overall military strength, Nigeria was ranked third in Africa, behind Egypt and Algeria, and 33rd of 145 countries considered in the annual GFP review.

Navy Arrests

EGYPT, ALGERIA BEHIND NIGERIA IN NAVAL STRENGTH
Egypt was ranked Africa’s strongest military, followed by Algeria.

However, in terms of naval strength, Egypt was ranked second in Africa with 149 vessels and 23rd globally.
Algeria came in third place on the continent with 111 vessels and was ranked 34th globally.

Morocco and South Africa, operating 100 and 63 vessels, respectively, ranked fourth and fifth in Africa.
Tunisia, with 37 vessels, came sixth. Mozambique was seventh with 36 vessels, and Angola ranked eighth with 32 vessels.

Kenya and Eritrea occupied the ninth and 10th positions in Africa with 27 and 23 units.

News

High Court Fixes April 30 For Ruling On Final Forfeiture Of Property Owned By Former Acting AGF

Published

9 hours ago

February 3, 2026

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High Court Fixes April 30 For Ruling On Final Forfeiture Of Property Owned By Former Acting AGF

High Court fixes April 30 for ruling on final forfeiture of property owned by former acting AGF. Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court, sitting in Maitama, Abuja has fixed April 30, 2026 for ruling on the application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for final forfeiture of a property owned by the former Acting Accountant General of the Federation, Chukwunyere Anamekwe Nwabuoku.

At Tuesday’s proceedings, defence counsel, N.I Quakers, SAN, informed the court of an application seeking the setting aside of the interim forfeiture order which the court granted on January 27, 2025, and another a notice of preliminary objection, dated August 15, 2025 bordering on the jurisdiction of the court.

He prayed the court to discountenance the prosecution’s final forfeiture application on the ground that the said property is also part of the reason for which he is facing criminal trial in another court. He questioned the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the matter and prayed the court to set aside EFCC’s application.

In response, prosecution counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, made reference to a motion dated May 6, 2024, and filed on the same date, that sought the final forfeiture order. He stated that the said property was reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of crimes. The application, the prosecution noted, is supported by an eight paragraph affidavit, written by Chinyelu Vivian Okpara, an operative of EFCC with attachments marked Exhibit EFCC 1 to EFCC 7. Relying on all the paragraphs in the affidavit, the prosecuting counsel urged the court to grant the application for the final forfeiture of the property.

Explaining further, the prosecution counsel said, “My lord, the respondent at the material time of these transactions was the Director of Finance in the Ministry of Defence. Funds were released strictly for military operations in fighting Boko haram, of which part of it was sent to the Ministry of Defence. Part of the funds were diverted using fictitious accounts up to the tune of N900 million.”

“My lord, from that funds, about N355 million went to the respondent and it was sent through an account he nominated, belonging to his friend, M Davies Enterprises Ltd and it was from that account that the property in question was purchased and it is that property the defendant is currently living in.

Federal High Court

It was in the course of the investigation that the defendant on his own handed over the keys of the house to be forfeited, as well as refunded some of the funds. Surprisingly, when this proceedings commenced, he turned around to challenge the forfeiture of the property. We urge the court to grant the application,” he said.

Further in his argument, the prosecution counsel stated that, “We also filed another affidavit on May 16, 2024. Again, we urge your lordship to grant this application,” he said. Justice Umar adjourned the matter till April 30, 2026 for ruling on the applications and judgment.

The anti-graft agency is also prosecuting Nwabuoku on amended nine-count charge of money laundering to the tune of N868, 465,000 (Eight Hundred and Sixty-eight Million, Four Hundred and Sixty-five Thousand Naira) before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Dele Oyewale
Head, Media & Publicity
February 3, 2026