Podium Reporters gathered that in December 2003, Karl Von Batten, the United States-based lobbyist hired by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, was convicted and sentenced over assault against his girlfriend, according to court documents. The context of Von Batten’s assault conviction was contained in the judgment of the District of Columbia Court of Appeal, in the appeal filed by Cynthia D. Murphy, the lobbyist’s ex-girlfriend. In the court document, Von Batten’s name was stated as “Karl M.E. Okeke.” Podium Reporters reports that the documents show the conviction was part of the record in Murphy’s appeal. The case was heard in the…
Author: Abiola
Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) have sued Abia State Governor Alex Otti over an alleged unlawful N200 million mandatory campaign fee imposed on presidential candidates seeking to display campaign materials in the state. The suit, marked HC/214/2026 and filed before the Abia State High Court, lists the Abia Attorney-General, the Abia State Signage and Advertisement Agency (ABSAA), and the House of Assembly as co-defendants. The plaintiffs argue the fee violates the Constitution and the Electoral Act 2026, which caps total presidential campaign spending at N10 billion nationwide. They contend that if every state imposed…
The APC Presidential Campaign Council (APC-PCC) has challenged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to explain the legal and fiscal basis of his proposed “production subsidy” for locally refined petrol, warning that the plan could cost Nigeria as much as N17 to N21 trillion annually. In a press statement issued on Sunday and signed by its spokesman, Dele Alake, the council said Atiku’s proposal, made at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, raises “important legal, fiscal and practical questions that he must answer.” Atiku had proposed a production subsidy for locally refined petrol which he said would reduce pump prices,…
A statement from the Igbo Youth Council (IYC) has linked the contentious disqualification of Professor Chukwuma Soludo as APGA’s prospective flag bearer for the 2014 Anambra State governorship poll to an alleged N600 million payment by Governor Peter Obi to the party’s National Chairman, Sir Victor Umeh. The IYC, described as a coalition of 22 Igbo youth and student groups, made the allegation in a statement issued on Wednesday. It was signed by Sir Mike Ozoemena, Barrister Osita Nkanna and Dr. Clems Adizua. The group dared Chief Umeh, a Sir Knight of the Catholic Church, to swear before the Blessed…
The Federal Government has fully settled the ₦18.96 billion pension arrears owed to retirees of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), with the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) confirming the final disbursement of ₦9.48 billion to 3,958 eligible pensioners under the Defined Benefit Scheme. The payment, which represents the outstanding 50 per cent balance of arrears from the Back-End Computation (BEC), follows an earlier ₦9.48 billion disbursed in June 2026 to the same group of pensioners. The settlement brings the total amount paid to ₦18,958,199,952.27, closing a long-standing liability that PTAD described as a significant milestone. The slight…
Podium Reporters gathered that a video surfaced on the X page of Anambra State New Media showing human rights lawyer Barr. Obele storming the Anambra State House of Assembly under Speaker Hon. Anayo Nebe to confront the Peter Obi administration over unpaid salaries of over 700 workers of the Anambra State Water Corporation for 42 months. According to the thread, Barr. Obele queried why N800m budgeted for workers’ salaries was diverted to a private contractor as a loan while workers and their families suffered. He called for the sack of the Special Adviser to the then Governor Peter Obi on…
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Tribunal has concluded that former Attorney-General Abubakar Malami attempted to mislead President Muhammadu Buhari and engaged in corrupt dealings with Leno Adesanya, the promoter of Sunrise Power and Transmission Company, regarding the Mambilla hydropower project. In its final award, the Tribunal rejected Sunrise’s claims against Nigeria, which included a demand for $680 million as a settlement sum plus interest, linked to a broader arbitration seeking over $2.7 billion. Central to the Tribunal’s findings was a Settlement Agreement signed on 2 January 2020, under which Nigeria was to pay $200 million. Just nine weeks later,…
Nigeria’s external position has strengthened sharply under President Bola Tinubu, with the current account surplus rising 67.9% to $7.54 billion in the second quarter of 2026. According to provisional balance of payments data from the Central Bank of Nigeria, the surplus increased from $4.49 billion in the preceding quarter. It also came in 45.8% higher than the $5.17 billion recorded in the same period of 2025. The surplus jumped by almost two-thirds quarter-on-quarter, exceeding many market expectations. The expansion was supported by stronger export receipts and increased diaspora remittances. The goods account posted a wider surplus, helping to offset some…
Atiku Abubakar and his former wife, Jennifer Douglas, have been thrust into the centre of the Mambilla hydropower controversy after Leno Adesanya, promoter of Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited, told an international arbitration tribunal that the $500,000 he transferred to Douglas in January 2003 was part of a foreign-exchange transaction carried out for Atiku. The claim directly connects the former vice-president to money paid to his then wife as negotiations around the Mambilla project gathered pace. Podium Reporters gathered that the payment was made on January 30, 2003 less than four months before Sunrise was purportedly awarded a build-operate-transfer…
In a landmark legal victory that has been linked to President Bola Tinubu’s current diplomatic and working visit to France, Nigeria has secured a decisive win at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris. The tribunal dismissed a $2.35 billion arbitration claim brought by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company over the long-stalled Mambilla hydropower project. The ruling, issued on Thursday by a three-member panel chaired by Melaine van Leeuwen, threw out Sunrise’s argument that the Federal Government breached its obligations under a 2020 settlement agreement. The tribunal also rejected the company’s separate demand for a $400 million settlement and…