Author: Staff Editor

Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Transparency International Nigeria have defended the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) decision to restrict the accounts of the Osun State Government, arguing that the protection of public funds should take precedence where there are credible concerns about their possible diversion or misuse. CISLAC said the controversy surrounding the restriction had overlooked a fundamental question: “Who protects the money of the people of Osun when alarm bells ring?” The organisation, through its Executive Director and Head of Transparency International Nigeria, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, said public funds belonged to citizens and not to governors,…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is compelled to publicly address issues pertaining to its preventive moves in freezing the bank account of the Osun State government, without prejudice to the imminent governorship election in the state. The Commission has been busy investigating the Osun state government since March, 2026, regarding alleged fraudulent handling of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee, FAAC account to the tune of ₦11,000,000,000 (Eleven Billion Naira only). To this end, some officials of the state government, especially the Accountant General of the State, have had interview sessions with investigators of the…

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has revoked the operating licence of Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation over its failure to meet the statutory Minimum Capital Requirement (MCR) and appointed Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr. Muiz Banire, SAN, OON, as Receiver/Provisional Liquidator to oversee the winding-up of the company’s affairs. The appointment took effect on August 3, 2026, following the cancellation of the corporation’s certificate of registration by the insurance regulator. In a public notice dated August 4, 2026, Banire stated that he was appointed by NAICOM, in the exercise of its statutory powers, to take charge of the receivership and liquidation of…

Justice A.M. Lawal of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, convicted and sentenced a fake lawyer, John Nwawuto Anoruo, for impersonation and possession of a forged seal of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). Anoruo, who operates a legal and educational consultancy in the Ikorodu area of Lagos, was arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday, April 20, 2026. His ordeal began after he submitted a petition dated September 22, 2025, to the EFCC on behalf of his clients against the management of Global West Vessel Specialist…

The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has stated that policy reforms are the most effective approach to combating corruption, economic crimes, and financial crimes. He made the statement on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, when the Managing Director of the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP), Uzoma Nwagba, led the corporation’s top management team on a courtesy visit to the EFCC’s corporate headquarters in Jabi, Abuja. “Being part of the system, I did a bit of analytical presentation on how we can effectively curb corruption and financial crimes in Nigeria, and we came to…

The Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikorodu has ordered X Corp, the owner and operator of the X platform (formerly Twitter), to disclose the personal information of the anonymous user of a parody account found liable for violating the data privacy rights of a Nigerian student. In a judgment delivered in June 2026, a copy of which was recently made public, Justice Adeniyi Pokanu awarded ₦20 million in general damages against the unidentified operator of the account (the 2nd respondent in the suit), with the username @boutmoney112, for the unauthorised alteration and republication of the applicant’s social media post.…

The Federal High Court has commenced the relocation of its Lagos Judicial Division from its current premises at No. 24, Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi, to its newly completed court complex at No. 1B, Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi. The relocation, which is being implemented in phases, began on July 31, 2026, following the completion of the new Federal High Court complex. The move is expected to enhance judicial administration and provide improved facilities for the court, legal practitioners, litigants, and other court users. The development was announced in a public notice issued by the Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court, Yahaya…

Justice Lekan Ogunmoye of the Ekiti State High Court, sitting in Ado-Ekiti, on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, convicted and sentenced one Bethel Onyedikachi Ukachukwu to two years’ imprisonment for car auction fraud. The convict was arraigned by the Ekiti Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a three-count amended charge bordering on obtaining by false pretence. Specifically, he obtained the sum of Five Hundred Thousand Naira (₦500,000.00) from Mr. Kayode Aina Samuel under the false pretence that he would secure a bid for an auctioned vehicle through the Nigeria Customs Service. Count One reads: “That you,…

Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court, Lagos, has convicted and sentenced two Chinese nationals, Zhang Hong Lin and Gao Pei Hai, to 25 years’ imprisonment each for conspiring to illegally export Nigeria’s mineral resources. The judge convicted the two defendants on all five counts preferred against them and sentenced each of them to 25 years’ imprisonment on Counts 1 to 5, with an option of a ₦10 million fine on each count. Counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), H. U. Kofarnaisa, had arraigned the two defendants on Friday on a five-count charge. Justice Aluko further…

Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court, sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Thursday, July 30, 2026, convicted and sentenced Sunmonu Olasunkanmi Thaoban to four years’ imprisonment for money laundering. Sunmonu was arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the EFCC on a two-count charge bordering on money laundering. One of the counts reads: “That you, Sunmonu Thaoban Olasunkanmi, sometime in 2023, in Lagos and within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, whilst acting as a middleman, indirectly disguised the origin of the sum of ₦16,000,000 (Sixteen Million Naira), being illicit gains accrued from your unlawful act, by converting…