Headlines
After Postponement, Ihedioha, Ganduje, Five Other Governors Know Fate Today
The Supreme Court on Monday suspended some appeals before it, postponing the fate of seven state governors till today and causing apprehension among parties, who were either represented or physically present in the court. The appeals, which emanated from the March 2019 governorship election across the federation, had been slated for hearing and determination by the apex court. Typical of days when high-profile cases are heard, the courtroom was filled to capacity with parties to the appeals, party loyalists, families and friends of the appellants and respondents.
The unexpected, however, happened less than an hour into the commencement of the sitting when Chief Justice of the Federation, Ibrahim Mohammed Tanko, announced that one of the justices on the panel had suddenly become ill. He, therefore, stood down the matter, so that the sick colleague could be attended to. As the justices rose to take the bow, all eyes watched to identify the sick judicial officer. The crowd waited, hopeful that proceedings would somehow resume, until one of the court registrars returned with the final announcement adjourning the matter till today.
Other members of the panel besides Tanko are Justices John Inyang Okoro, Sylvester Nwali Ngwuta, Uwani Musa Aba Aji, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Aminu Sani and Olukayode Ariwoola.
The affected governors are: Imo State Governor Emeka Ihedioha; Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto); Umar Ganduje (Kano); Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa); Bala Mohammed (Bauchi); Simon Lalong (Plateau) and Samuel Ortom (Benue).
Meanwhile, a High Court in Jabi, Federal Capital Territory, yesterday fixed February 25 to hear a suit challenging the qualification of House of Representatives Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila to contest an election. The suit is also challenging his nomination as the Speaker of the Ninth Assembly.
When the matter, which was slated for the hearing of pending applications came up, the claimant’s counsel, Obed Agu, informed the court that he had a motion on notice before the court. He said his application was seeking to regularise his processes by way of asking for an extension of time, to enable him to file his reply.
The motion was brought in pursuant to the rule of the court dated November 18 and filed November 19, 2019 in a four-paragraph affidavit.Agu said he had filed his written address and wanted to adopt the same as an oral argument, urging the court to grant his prayers.The judge, Justice Charles Agbaza, asked the first defendant’s counsel, Femi Adedeji, if he had any objection to the application.Adedeji, on his part, did not raise any objection. In his ruling, therefore, Agbaza said the application had merit and granted it in the interest of justice.
The judge also directed that a hearing notice be served on the other defendants, who were absent from Monday’s proceeding. Also, a Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday adjourned until February 11 the trial of the president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Paul Usoro, charged with an alleged N1.4 billion fraud.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting Usoro before Justice Rilwan Aikawa on 10 counts.He was first arraigned before Justice Muslim Hassan in December 2018, but the case was re-assigned to Justice Rilwan Aikawa. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges before Hassan. He also maintained his not-guilty plea before Aikawa and was granted bail.
The continuation of trial, earlier fixed for yesterday, has now been further adjourned to February 11, as Aikawa did not sit.Also mentioned in the charge is the incumbent governor of Akwa Ibom, Emmanuel Udom, who is described as “currently constitutionally immune from prosecution”.Others are: the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Finance, Nsikan Nkan; Accountant General of Akwa Ibom State, Mfon Udomah; the Akwa Ibom Attorney General, Uwemedimo Nwoko and Margaret Ukpe.
The aforementioned names were described in the charge as being at large.In the charge marked FHC/418c/18, the anti-graft agency alleged that the defendant committed the offence on May 14, 2016. Usoro was alleged to have conspired with others to commit the offence within the jurisdiction of the court.
The Guardian
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Biodun Oyebanji, winner of the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election.
Oyebanji secured a landslide victory, polling 319,224 votes to defeat his closest challenger, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Dr. Wole Oluyede, who garnered 40,543 votes. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Dare Bejide, came a distant third with 12,872 votes.
The election, held across all 16 local government areas of the state, was overshadowed by reports of irregularities and widespread allegations of vote buying, drawing strong condemnation from observers.
The official results were announced on Sunday morning by the Chief Returning Officer, Professor Adenike Oladiji, who declared Oyebanji duly elected after meeting the constitutional requirements.
In her declaration, Professor Oladiji stated: “I, Professor Adenike Oladiji, hereby certify that I am the Returning Officer for the Ekiti State Governorship Election held on June 20, 2026, and that the election was conducted in compliance with the provisions of the law. Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress, having satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of valid votes cast, is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”
Source: Reuters
Arise Television anchor, Rufai Oseni, has alleged that there may be attempts to prevent key opposition figures, including Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar, from appearing on the ballot for the 2027 general elections.
Oseni’s remark followed a Federal High Court judgment ordering the de-registration of some political parties.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples’ Party (APP), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), and Action Alliance Party (AAP) over alleged constitutional breaches.
The judgment arose from a lawsuit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which argued that the affected parties failed to meet constitutional and statutory electoral performance requirements necessary for continued recognition as political parties.
Justice Lifu subsequently barred INEC from recognising the affected parties, accepting nominations from them or permitting them to participate in activities related to the 2027 general elections.
The ruling, if upheld, could affect the political ambitions of several politicians, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is the ADC presidential flag-bearer, and Osun State governor Ademola Adeleke, who is seeking re-election on the platform of the Accord Party.
But speaking on Arise TV’s Morning Show on Tuesday, Oseni described the court ruling as a “test” of public reaction, warning that more actions could follow ahead of the next general election.
According to him, opposition parties such as the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, should be cautious, claiming that efforts could be made to stop major figures from participating in the election.
Oseni argued that the judgment was part of a broader process aimed at shaping the political landscape ahead of 2027.
He maintained that the ruling came despite some of the affected parties having recorded electoral victories in recent elections.
He warned that Nigerians must remain vigilant to safeguard the country’s democracy, stressing the need for judicial reforms alongside efforts to tackle insecurity.
Oseni said: “NDC, ADC should be careful because there will be attempt, and this is me predicting now, to ensure that Obi, Atiku and other big contenders are not on the ballot.
“This that you saw yesterday is just a test. This is not the real place where the whole thing is going. This is me predicting now.
“You know before you have a show you test the microphone. They want to see the reactions of Nigerians. More is still coming.
“You can see how they carry a judgement when ADC won two House of Representatives seats in Kogi, one Kogi House of Assembly seat, APP one chairmanship seat in Jigawa, Zenith Labour party won several seats in Abia, but they still went ahead and issued judgement for deregistration after the Court of Appeal, a higher court, said it should stay on that.
“If we want to deal with this judicial rascality, can I tell you something? The judge that gave this judgment, nothing will happen to him. Nothing on this earth. They are just coming.
“And who is leading this group? Gbajabiamila. Have you forgotten what Gbajabiamila said on Hon Ajibade’s birthday? So they are just coming. This one is just a test. The next one they will do is the NDC.
“With the way they’re going, if Nigerians don’t shine their eyes when they will finally have this election, you will not have the major contenders in the ballot. This thing they have just done is to test reactions from Nigerians.
“I saw this thing coming. You know we are going into an election in which Atiku Abubakar is the only major candidate from the North. It’s not like the last one you have Kwankwaso that can split the Kano votes. And you have Peter Obi and general consensus that a lot of people are in abject penury, insecurity is raging hard.
“This is the beginning of many things. They are just testing the microphone. It’s engineered. More is coming. Nigerians, it is you that will save your democracy. Judicial reforms have become so important as insecurity in Nigeria.”
