Author: Staff Editor
For nearly a month, the controversy surrounding the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) has generated intense public debate, with allegations and counter-allegations threatening to overshadow the legal issues at the heart of the dispute. While Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew has publicly accused the Chief of Staff to the President, Rt. Hon. Olufemi Hakeem Gbajabiamila, of authorising the council and benefiting financially from its operations, the Presidency has consistently maintained that the PFIPC never existed as an official government agency. From the government’s perspective, one fact appears central: long before the recent media exchanges, Gbajabiamila had reportedly petitioned security…
The United States Consulate in Lagos and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have commended the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for its investigative effectiveness and sustained efforts in combating sextortion and transnational financial crimes. The commendation came on Monday, July 6, 2026, during a courtesy visit by Assistant Law Enforcement Attaché of the United States Consulate, SSA James Smith, and SSA Thomas Pepper of the Cyber Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation Headquarters, to the Acting Zonal Director of EFCC Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, Assistant Commander of the EFCC (ACE I), Bawa Usman Kaltungo, in Ikoyi, Lagos. Speaking during…
Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa, has commended the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, for raising the Commission’s standards to their highest level. Alausa spoke on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja, where a delegation from the ministry received beds and mattresses recovered during a cybercrime operation and forfeited to the Federal Government. “Chairman, I commend you for bringing the highest standards to the EFCC,” Alausa said. The items, comprising 501 double-step bunk beds, 939 mattresses, and 12 wooden beds with mattresses, were recovered during a special…
A Federal High Court in Lagos has nullified the ₦60 billion sanction imposed by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) on Facebook Nigeria Operations Limited over alleged unapproved advertisements targeted at the Nigerian market, holding that the regulator acted outside its statutory powers and violated the company’s constitutional right to a fair hearing. Delivering judgment in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/2205/2024, Justice Yellim Bogoro declared ARCON’s Notice of Violation/Demand for Compliance dated October 21, 2024, unconstitutional, unlawful, null and void, and restrained the regulator from taking any further steps to enforce it. The judgment, delivered on June 18, 2026, also held…
Chief of Staff to the President, Rt. Hon. Olufemi Hakeem Gbajabiamila, has given Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew 72 hours to withdraw what he described as false and defamatory allegations made against him during a widely circulated press conference or face both civil and criminal legal action. Gbajabiamila, through his solicitors, Pinheiro LP, is also demanding a public apology, the removal of the alleged defamatory publications from all media platforms, and a written undertaking that no further allegations will be made against him. The demands are contained in a cease-and-desist letter dated July 6, 2026, and signed by Senior Advocate of…
The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed July 10, 2026, to deliver judgment in the suit filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) seeking the final forfeiture of 57 properties allegedly linked to former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami. The case, which came up on Monday before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, was originally slated for judgment after both parties adopted their final written addresses and concluded their arguments on May 26. However, the court deferred its decision and adjourned the matter until July 10. The EFCC is asking the court to permanently forfeit…
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured another major victory in its anti-corruption campaign as the Federal High Court ordered the forfeiture of several properties linked to former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, who is currently serving a 75-year prison sentence for corruption. Delivering the ruling on Thursday, July 2, 2026, Justice James Omotosho ordered the final forfeiture of Walijam Apartments, located at No. 43, Plot 435, Lobito Crescent, Wuse 2, Abuja, after holding that the EFCC had successfully proved that the property was acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities. The court also granted interim forfeiture orders over…
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Monday, July 6, 2026, presented its first prosecution witness (PW1) before Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Apo, Abuja, in the trial of former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the defunct Skye Bank Plc (now Polaris Bank Limited), Tunde Ayeni. The EFCC is prosecuting Ayeni on an 18-count amended charge bordering on alleged criminal breach of trust, misappropriation, and diversion of funds totalling ₦15.6 billion. The defendant was first arraigned on May 4, 2026, on a 17-count charge and was subsequently re-arraigned on June 22,…
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday ordered the National Welfare Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mr. Nkemakolam Ukandu, to pay the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, and Justice Peter Lifu the sum of ₦50 million each. Justice Salim Ibrahim, in a ruling on an oral application made by Mr. J. U. K. Igwe, SAN, counsel to Justice Tsoho and Justice Lifu, ordered that the total sum of ₦100 million be paid within 14 days of the order. Justice Ibrahim had earlier struck out Ukandu’s suit against the National Judicial Council…
A prosecution witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday told the Federal Capital Territory High Court that former Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, did not interfere with procurement processes in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, a key issue in his ongoing trial over an alleged ₦80 million fraud. Ngige is facing an eight-count charge bordering on alleged abuse of office. The charges include five counts of allegedly conferring undue advantage on five companies said to be linked to his associates, and three counts relating to the alleged receipt of ₦38 million and…