Rountrip

A Lagos State High Court on Tuesday heard the bail application of Hammed Tajudeen Akanbi and reserved ruling to a date to be communicated to parties.   The application was argued before Justice A.T. Muyideen, who had earlier adjourned proceedings to November 2026 due to the annual court vacation. However, the court brought forward the hearing of the bail application following concerns over the deteriorating health of the defendant.   Counsel to Akanbi, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, urged the court to grant bail on medical grounds, stating that his client’s condition had worsened in custody. He also relied on a Certified True Copy of the police investigation report, which he said exonerates the defendant.   In a related application, Rukayat Afolabi, Esq., representing co-defendants Shafi Fatai and Yusuf Ismaila, asked the court to direct the Kirikiri Correctional Centre clinic to release the medical records of her clients.   The Director of Public Prosecutions opposed the applic...

The Centre for Human and Socio-Economic Rights (CHSR) has raised concerns over developments surrounding the ongoing murder trial involving Alhaji Ahmed Tajudeen Akanbi and other defendants before the Lagos High Court, calling for greater procedural and administrative transparency in the handling of the case. CHSR made the position known on Sunday, September 27, 2026, at an emergency press conference held at the Liberation Centre, where its President, Comrade Alex Omotehinse, addressed journalists, representatives of civil society organisations, leaders and members of the Ajiran Community and other concerned Nigerians. The organisation said that the defendants were standing trial over the deaths of two members of the Ajiran Community in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State—Mr Sheriff Ishola Salami, described as a youth leader who died on April 18, 2023, and Prince Kazeem Ademola Akinloye, son of the Ojomu of Ajiranland, who died on August 26, 2024. Omotehinse said that the purpo...

  The Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo is targeting 90 percent of the registered voters in Ondo East and West Federal Constituency ahead of the general election in January 2027 for APC.   The Minister who is the Captain of the Positive Crew spoke to representatives of Ward 2, 4,5 6, 12, in Ondo East local government through the first officer of the positive Crew Otunba Bola Fisayo.   In his message, wards 2,4,5,6 12 have about sixty settlements with a high number of electorates. The Minister noted that it is time our people in the remote areas are given a sense of participation and benefits in the government of the day.   The Minister's goodwill message also stated that it is time our rural areas are integrated with urban areas and there  must be an end to discrimination in terms of development across the state.   The Representatives to over sixty villages in Ondo East had been dispatched already with the message of President Tinubu Renewed Hop...

Following an extraordinary emergency summit comprising the coalition of Ogoni Diaspora Organizations, the National Union of Ogoni Students International (NUOS INTL) USA, Frontier Youth and Women formations, and allied civil rights bodies across Ogoniland (Nigeria) and in the Diaspora, the coalition has issued a definitive declaration to the Nigerian state, multinational corporations and the international community on the listing of OML 11 on the London Stock Exchange by Shell Nigeria for $2.4 billion. The coalition stated that the Ogoni people, the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) and its authentic affiliate bodies are neither represented nor spoken for by the Federal Government's alleged handpicked Ogoni Dialogue Committee (ODC), Ledum Mitee, Chief Lesi Maol and the factional MOSOP leader, Nsuka Fegelo, who they described as a 'rebel.' The statement was jointly signed by Ewards Adookor, Acting President of NUOS INTL USA; Edwards Adookor, leader of The ...

The Centre for Human and Socio-Economic Rights (CHSR) has raised concerns over the repeated administrative recall of the case file in the ongoing prosecution of suspects linked to the deaths of two residents of Ajiran Community in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State. The organisation, in a petition addressed to the Chief Judge of Lagos State, urged the judiciary to ensure that the substantive proceedings continue before the court handling the matter, while allowing all parties to present their cases in accordance with the law. The case concerns the deaths of Sheriff Ishola Salami, who was reportedly killed in April 2023, and Prince Kazeem Ademola Akinloye, who was reportedly killed in August 2024. Recent reports indicate that Hammed Tajudeen Akanbi is standing trial alongside Shafi Fatai and Yusuf Ismaila over the alleged killings.  A Lagos High Court had previously ordered Akanbi's remand, while subsequent bail applications were dealt with by different courts. In its late...

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has widened its probe into the controversial insurance industry recapitalisation exercise, with invitation letters now being issued to other operators beyond the initial petitioners. A letter dated 3rd September 2026 and addressed to the Managing Director of Linkage Assurance Plc, Mr Daniel Braie, at the company’s Abuja office, 29 Aswan Street, Wuse Zone 3, confirms the expansion. Titled “Investigation activities letter of invitation – Re: capitalisation exercise in the insurance sector,” the correspondence from the EFCC’s Capital Market and Insurance Fraud Section requires Braie to report for an interview on Thursday, 24th September 2026. The development comes amid growing pressure on Olusegun Ayo Omosehin, Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), to step aside.  Industry stakeholders and civil society organisations have intensified calls for his immediate suspension or...

By Thomas Agagu ‎ ‎In the life of any institution, recognition means little when it is detached from results. But when an honour follows measurable achievements, it becomes a useful reminder that hard work is being noticed and that a new direction is beginning to make an impact. ‎ ‎This is the context in which Bashir Bayo Ojulari's emergence as the 2026 Leadership Newspapers CEO of the Year (Public Sector) should be viewed. ‎ ‎The recognition comes at a particularly important moment for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, as the national oil company records stronger financial performance, attracts fresh investment, advances critical oil and gas projects and pursues reforms aimed at making the organisation more efficient, transparent and commercially competitive. ‎ ‎The figures behind the recognition make the story even more compelling. In the first six months of 2026, NNPCL recorded N19.04 trillion in revenue and N2.28 trillion in profit after tax. Between January and ...

The Coalition for Good Governance in Nigeria (CGGN) has called for the immediate resignation of Olusegun Ayo Omosehin, Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), over what it described as a deepening regulatory and financial crisis that threatens to destroy public confidence in the nation’s insurance industry. In a statement signed by Salisu Mohammed, the group said Omosehin’s continued stay in office while a formal petition against him and NAICOM sits before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) constitutes a clear and present danger to the sector and an affront to accountability. “The petition before the EFCC is not a minor administrative disagreement. It centres on alleged unlawful demands for a one per cent capital injection fee, forced transfer of entire capital funds into CBN escrow accounts contrary to Section 16(3) of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act 2025, and the collection of about ₦180 million...

The Centre for Public Accountability and Social Well-being is declared support for the Lagos State House of Assembly position on the allocation of portions of a disputed parcel of land to the Ojaekomo and Ojomu royal families. Speaking at press briefing on the outcome of the House of Assembly intervention on the land dispute, the Secretary of the Centre, Oluwagbamila Oluwasegun, and counsel to the Ojaekomo family, Olu Akinkuowo, Esq. said the Assembly reached the position at a meeting held on September 10, 2026, following petitions and concerns over the ownership and use of the land. The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ojaekomo and Ojomu families, Bashiru Fakorede and his counsel, the Executive Secretary of the Lands Bureau, the Surveyor-General and other government officials. The meeting was presided over by the Chairman of the relevant House Committee, Hon. Noheem Adams, who represents Eti-Osa Constituency and is the Majority Leader of the Assembly. According to the Ce...

‎ ‎By Sunday Johnson ‎ ‎“The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.” This observation, widely attributed to American basketball coach, John Wooden, captures something important about leadership; that the character of a leader is often revealed not by the speech he makes, but by the things he chooses to do when applause is absent. ‎ ‎In General Olufemi Olatubosun Oluyede, Nigeria appears to have a military leader whose understanding of service goes beyond rank, uniform and command. Since assuming office as Chief of Defence Staff, he has continued to demonstrate that leadership in the Armed Forces is ultimately about responsibility, sacrifice and the welfare of the men and women entrusted with defending the nation. ‎ ‎Oluyede's journey to the highest professional position in Nigeria's military establishment did not happen overnight. Born in Ikere, Ekiti State, in 1968, he joined the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1987 and was commissioned into the Ni...

Deputy Spokesman of the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese, has accused the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) of misinterpreting and selectively implementing insurance laws, warning that its actions could weaken the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), cost jobs and discourage investment in agriculture. Agbese, who is also a member of the House Committee on Insurance and Actuarial Matters, said the matter went beyond a disagreement between a regulator and an institution, arguing that NAIC plays an important role in protecting agricultural investments and providing confidence to farmers, businesses and investors. Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Thursday, the Labour Party lawmaker said the regulatory process surrounding NAIC required urgent scrutiny, particularly amid concerns over NAICOM’s implementation of the insurance sector recapitalisation programme. “The issue before us is bigger than a regulatory disagreement. NAIC is a strategic institution with a ...

A coalition of Ogoni diaspora organizations, youth groups, and civil society organizations both at home and abroad has passed a vote of no confidence in the Federal Government-appointed Ogoni Dialogue Committee, ODC, led by Professor Don Baridam, over alleged attempts to undermine MOSOP. In a statement issued over the weekend and signed by the Acting President of NUOS International USA, Edwards Adookor; the Coordinator of The Unseen Project, Sira Mark; the President of Youth & Civil Society, Silvernus Alesaa and the President of CDHRAC International USA, Ignatius Ganago, the coalition said “there cannot be any ‘Ogoni dialogue’ greater than MOSOP.” “MOSOP is Ogoni. MOSOP is tears, blood, and the supreme sacrifice. There is no other apex organization in Ogoni that speaks for Ogoni than MOSOP,” the statement read. The coalition comprises the National Union of Ogoni Students, NUOS, International Secretariat, CDHRAC International USA, The Unseen Project, Ogoni London-based activists, an...

The Center for Public Accountability and Social Well-being (CPASW) on Thursday, September 10, 2026, protested at the Lagos State House of Assembly, urging lawmakers to investigate alleged interference, intimidation and harassment linked to a disputed 27.65-hectare parcel of government-allocated land in the Lekki sub-region. The organisation’s protest followed a petition it submitted to the House on August 23, seeking legislative intervention in the lingering dispute involving the Ojaekomo family, the Ojomu Chieftaincy Family and Bashiru Fakorede over land at Sapata Village, Ajiran, Eti-Osa Local Government Area. The Lagos State House of Assembly, in a letter dated September 7 and signed by the Clerk of the House, A.A. Oshinowo, invited the Director-General of the Centre, Shola Omolola, to appear before its Committee on Rules and Business on Thursday, September 10, alongside his clients and relevant documents. Following the invitation, the Ojaekomo family and the CSO was present at the ...

Nigerian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, says President Bola Tinubu and members of his family enjoy unimpeded transit and cannot be arrested in the United States while attending the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Ibrahim, who is also Chairman of the United Nations Committee on Budget and Administration, said this in a statement issued by the Office of the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations in New York. He said the Nigerian Mission in New York had received no notification from the US government of any restriction on President Tinubu’s movement during the UNGA. Citing Section 11 of the 1947 UN-U.S. Agreement, the envoy said representatives of member states and their families are protected from impediments to transit to and from the UN headquarters district. He explained that the provision requires US federal, state and local authorities to refrain from imposing restrictions on the movement of representatives of mem...