A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, has affirmed a leadership change in the Labour Party, one of the country’s major opposition parties, by recognising a caretaker committee led by Senator Nenadi Usman and removing Julius Abure as national chairman. In a judgement delivered on Wednesday, 21 January 2026, Justice Peter Lifu held that the material placed before the court showed that Abure’s tenure as Labour Party national chairman had already expired. The judge also directed the Independent National Electoral Commission, Nigeria’s electoral management body, to immediately recognise the Nenadi Usman-led caretaker committee as the only valid authority…
Author: Oluwadara Akingbohungbe
A former spokesperson for the Northern Elders Forum, a socio-political group of senior figures from Northern Nigeria, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has said the African Democratic Congress, a Nigerian political party, may face serious internal tension after its convention ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election. Speaking on Politics Today, a political programme on Channels Television, on Tuesday, 20 January 2026, Baba-Ahmed predicted that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who served as Nigeria’s vice president from 1999 to 2007, is likely to emerge as the party’s presidential candidate. Baba-Ahmed believes the decision could create cracks within the party because different blocs and interest…
The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by Senator Samuel Anyanwu in which he asked the court to recognise him as the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Justice Mohammed Umar threw out the case after Anyanwu’s lawyer told the court that his client’s tenure in the office ended in December 2025, making the dispute no longer useful for the court to continue with. In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/254/2025, Anyanwu had listed the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and Umar Damagum, a former acting National Chairman of the PDP, as defendants. The case later…
Former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke, who also once led the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has appeared in a London court as early steps begin for her upcoming bribery trial in the United Kingdom. Reports has it that the appearance took place on Monday, 19 January 2026, as the court began preliminary work such as technical issues and jury selection ahead of the full hearing. Alison-Madueke was present in court. Alison-Madueke served as Nigeria’s oil minister from 2010 to 2015. She was the first woman to hold that ministerial role in Nigeria, and later became the first female…
Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) have re-arrested Abubakar Malami, the former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, mere moments after he exited Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja, where he had been detained on charges related to alleged money laundering. The incident occurred on Monday afternoon, following Malami’s completion of bail conditions for his prior detention. According to reports, Malami had been held in Kuje Prison since late December 2025, facing accusations of stealing and laundering public funds amounting to approximately 8.7 billion naira. He was granted bail by a Federal High Court, but sources indicate…
Troops under Operation Hadin Kai stopped a Boko Haram drone strike in the Timbuktu Triangle area of Borno State and recovered several items linked to the group during follow-up raids. The Joint Task Force in the North East confirmed the development in a statement released on Monday by its Media Information Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Sani Uba. According to the statement, the incident happened on Sunday while troops were moving after a series of planned and intelligence-supported missions across key Boko Haram hideouts in Chilaria, Garin Faruk, and Abirma. The statement read that the troops had destroyed multiple terrorist locations and…
Operatives of the Department of State Services on Friday rearrested Abdulaziz Malami, son of former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja after an alleged attempt to move him out of custody without the usual procedures. Sources at the facility said officials of the Federal High Court had earlier arrived with completed bail documents to process Abdulaziz’s release. However, those familiar with the situation claimed that the former minister wanted his son taken out quietly instead of going through the normal handover processes carried out by the Nigerian Correctional Service.…
The Human and Environmental Development Agenda Resource Centre has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over claims that intervention funds meant for victims of the January 2024 Bodija explosion in Ibadan were diverted by the Oyo State Government led by Governor Seyi Makinde. In a petition signed by its chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju, and addressed to EFCC chairman Olanipekun Olukoyede, the civil society group alleged that the Federal Government released ₦30 billion to Oyo State for compensation, reconstruction and emergency support after the explosion, which caused deaths and severe property damage. The organisation said that the public first became aware…
A prominent political figure in Katsina State has sparked controversy by claiming that a local government area has allocated 300 million naira in its 2026 budget specifically for payments to bandits, amid ongoing security challenges in Nigeria’s northwest region. Dr. Mustapha Muhammad Inuwa, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Secretary to the Katsina State Government, made the allegation during an interview on DCL Hausa, a local media outlet. In the video, which was shared on X (formerly Twitter) by the account @Arewa_Source, Inuwa spoke in Hausa about what he described as misuse of public funds to…
Rivers State lawmakers have explained why they moved forward with the impeachment process against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, saying the governor allegedly attempted to undermine political reconciliation efforts in the state. Speaking during a press conference at the temporary Assembly complex on Aba Road, Port Harcourt on Friday, Hon. Looloo Opuende, who represents Akuku Toru Constituency II, said stakeholders were trying to find a political solution to the ongoing rift, while Governor Fubara was allegedly making attempts to influence residents of their constituencies to withdraw them from office. According to him, “while the impeachment process was…