Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has remained in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Abuja as investigations intensify over an alleged ₦432 billion corruption case. El-Rufai arrived at the commission’s headquarters on Monday morning around 10 a.m. and was detained after questioning. By Tuesday, he had spent a second night in custody, with officials indicating that they may seek a court order to extend his detention beyond the legally permitted 48 hours. An official of the commission dismissed social media claims that he had been released. “Forget the speculations being peddled on social media that…
Author: Oluwadara Akingbohungbe
A crucial stakeholders’ meeting of the All Progressives Congress in Ondo State turned chaotic on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, when armed men invaded the party’s secretariat in Akure, the state capital in southwestern Nigeria. The meeting was held ahead of the party’s ward congresses scheduled across 203 wards in Ondo State. These congresses are internal elections that determine local party officials and influence the party’s structure at higher levels. Eyewitnesses said the attackers stormed the venue with cutlasses and other weapons, disrupting proceedings and assaulting several leaders. Among those reportedly beaten were the state chairman, Mr Ade Adetimehin, a board…
The Nigerian Senate erupted in heated exchanges on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, before eventually passing the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill 2026, a crucial law that will shape how the country conducts its 2027 general elections. The drama centred on Clause 60 of the bill, which deals with the transmission of election results. Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, representing Abia South in Abia State, demanded a formal division on the clause, triggering tension in the chamber. Senate President Godswill Akpabio initially said he believed the request had already been withdrawn, but opposition lawmakers objected loudly. Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin…
A senior official of Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Works has been brought before a federal court in Abuja over allegations of money laundering and corruption involving ₦2,000,000. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission charged Blessing Lere-Adams, a Director in the ministry, before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday, February 16, 2026. She is facing six counts under the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, the Penal Code (Northern Nigeria) Federal Provisions Act, and the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000. According to the commission, the alleged offences occurred between August 2022 and…
Nigeria’s House of Representatives was thrown into disorder on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, after a controversial vote on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, 2025 sparked heated protests among lawmakers. The plenary session, held in Abuja and presided over by Speaker Dr Tajudeen Abbas, had only one item on the agenda. It concerned a motion to rescind the earlier decision on the proposed amendment to Nigeria’s Electoral Act, the law that regulates elections in the country. The motion was introduced by Mr Francis Waive, Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, and supported by Mr Adebayo Balogun, Chairman of…
In a cryptic social media post that has ignited fresh debate over one of Nigeria’s most enduring mysteries, Bashir Nasir El-Rufai, son of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, has implicated former All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman Abdullahi Umar Ganduje in the 2019 disappearance of social media activist Abubakar Idris, popularly known as Dadiyata. The post, shared on X (formerly Twitter) on February 17, 2026, reads: “Ganduje = Dadiyata. Those who know, know very well. Let’s pray that police officer is located Insha Allah kawai. All this diversion to their worst nightmare (El-Rufai) is an exercise in futility &…
The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed Tuesday, February 24, 2026, to hear a suit seeking the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress and other political parties over alleged constitutional breaches. The case was filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators against the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Attorney General of the Federation, and five political parties, including the African Democratic Congress, the Accord Party, the Zenith Labour Party, and the Action Alliance. The matter was first scheduled for mention on Monday, February 16, 2026, before Justice Peter Lifu but was not heard. The…
A lawmaker in Oyo State, south western Nigeria, has left the Peoples Democratic Party and joined the African Democratic Congress. Dawood Olalere, who represents Ibadan North West State Constituency in the Oyo State House of Assembly, announced his resignation in a letter dated Friday, February 13, 2026. The letter was addressed to the Chairman of Ward 7 of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ibadan North West Local Government Area. He stated that his resignation takes immediate effect. Olalere explained that his decision was due to “long lingering and unresolvable division bedevilling the party.” He later led many of his supporters…
Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased slightly to 15.10% in January 2026, down from 15.15% in December 2025, according to the latest Consumer Price Index report released on Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s official statistics agency. The decline was small, but it came after earlier expectations from some analysts that Nigeria’s inflation could rise toward 19% in January 2026. Inflation is closely tracked because it reflects changes in the cost of living and can shape decisions by households, businesses, and policymakers. The National Bureau of Statistics reported that the Consumer Price Index, a broad measure of price movement…
The federal government of Nigeria has filed charges against Nasir El-Rufai, a former Governor of Kaduna State in north-western Nigeria, in connection with the alleged interception of phone communications belonging to Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu. The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026, was filed by the Federal Republic of Nigeria at the Federal High Court, Abuja Judicial Division, in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city. According to the prosecution, the charges stem from statements El-Rufai allegedly made on Friday, February 13, 2026, during an appearance on Arise TV’s Prime Time programme in Abuja. Prosecutors claim he admitted that he and others unlawfully intercepted…