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Pendulum: Shagari, Dangote, Otedola and Too Many Matters

Published

7 years ago

December 29, 2018

Eric

By Dele Momodu

Fellow Nigerians, this is one of those weeks when what you never planned decides to jam what you already planned. I had planned to write on my encounter with one of the youngest Presidential aspirants, Fela Durotoye, who visited me at home recently with his very creative wife, Tara. We spent some quality time together and I’m sure we were all able to gain better insight about the Nigerian political vista from that encounter. I had cause to speak to Fela again after I got wind of some situations affecting his campaign. I was able to give him some more tips on how to forge ahead with his campaign and not get disillusioned. We’ve come a long way together as Ife boys, though much younger than me, but he’s always felt totally at home with me on anything concerning him and his wife. He calls his wife my baby and she’s playing a very pivotal role in this campaign. It is through her that I’m able to track and measure Fela’s progress.

Anyway, as I sat down to write yesterday in the tranquil city of Accra, Ghana, I received an incredible “breaking news” from a friend. “Aliko Dangote and Femi Otedola have been named as prominent members of the Buhari Presidential campaign team”, he shouted. WHAT, I exclaimed. This drama is getting too much and too hot to handle, I mused. Nigeria’s ruling party, APC, released a comprehensive list of its political campaign team and the news was designed to send shivers down the spines of opposition parties. I was not very surprised at their idea of muscle-flexing. This is the season when every political party needs to show its influence and advertise its powerful supporters as a way of intimidating its opponents. My shock came from the mention of two of Nigeria’s biggest brands and very popular entrepreneurs. There is nothing new about businessmen going into politics. But I’m not sure if Aliko Dangote and Femi Otedola are members of APC, and at what point they joined the party. Indeed, I seriously doubt it.

What was more, I was worried about the possibility of these two men with immense exposure to international commerce becoming politically exposed and endangered men instantly. It has not been possible, as at the time of writing this, to ascertain that they were contacted prior to the announcement and if they actually accepted to serve in whatever capacity as Buhari’s campaigners. My personal opinion is that APC should have spared these men the agony and anguish of being dragged into Nigeria’s political brouhaha with attendant risks of a heavy backlash and collateral damages. If they both are friends and financial supporters of President Buhari, their privacy should have been protected and preserved, unless of course they volunteered their services. What the APC did yesterday was to play its biggest card so early and too soon. My opinion is that it is absolutely unnecessary and that even if these men accepted the offer under veiled threats or real coercion, it still won’t wish away or wash off the concomitant embarrassment and public odium. No government should treat its precious assets in this manner. There is no doubt that businessmen can be mentioned as donors and contributors to political campaigns. This happens all over the world and indeed, these businessmen also sometimes write in support of those parties. What shouldn’t happen, if they are not members of a political party, is to coral or railroad them into that party’s campaign team simply because that party is the ruling party!

These are not normal times. The political situation in Nigeria has been too tense. I was still ruminating over how to respond to this Aliko/Otedola controversy when I received another bombshell, that Nigeria’s President in the Second Republic, Alhaji Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari has just passed on to the great beyond. Once confirmed, I quickly tweeted a condolence message to his family. I was 19 years old when he became President on the platform of the National Party of Nigeria. I was an undergraduate student at the University of Ife in 1979 and was old enough to follow the chaotic fallout from that election which turned out to be a major contest between Shagari and the famous political sage and erudite lawyer, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. I will never forget the court case that ensued about the legal interpretation of the mathematical calculation of what constitutes the two thirds of all the States of the Federation at the time. According to the results of that monumental election released by the Federal Electoral Commission, popularly known then as FEDECO, Shagari had garnered 5,688,857 votes nationally while Awolowo scored 4,916,651 votes. The argument ensued that Shagari had not met the technically complicated Constitutional requirement of needing to have 25% of the votes cast in at least two-thirds of all the 19 States. Although he did not contest the total figures, but rather relied on technicality, Awolowo vehemently rejected the victory purportedly recorded by Shagari and prayed the courts to jettison the decision of the Election Tribunal that had given victory to Shagari.

The case which went all the way to the Supreme Court would go down as one of the most tempestuous cases in the entire legal history of Nigeria. The biggest mathematical problem arose when Chief Awolowo insisted that a State was single entity which could not be factionalised and as such, Shagari needed to have won the mandatory 25% in 13 States and not in the fabricated twelve and two-third States as rigorously argued by Shagari’s lawyer, Chief Richard Osuolale Akinjide (SAN) who eventually won the case on September 26, 1979. At the Supreme Court, the case was presided over by Justice Atanda Fatai-Williams who was flanked by Justices Irikefe, Bello, Idigbe, Obaseki, Uwais and Esho.

Days later, Shagari was promptly sworn in, but the controversy raged on, almost endlessly and still does amongst academics to this day. Shagari thus became Nigeria’s first Executive President. Four years on, Shagari’s government was already enmeshed in reckless profligacy and humongous resources were frittered away. The climax came for that government in 1983 when Shagari and his magicians, supported by the then Inspector General of Police, Sunday Adewusi, won elections in even impossible places in what was termed “land slide” and “moon slide.” All complaints were ignored, and it seemed the politicians could really not be bothered. The consequences of their folly in believing they were invincible manifested itself about three months later when the military struck in a coup d’etat on December 31, 1983, and Muhammadu Buhari was soon announced as the new Head of State.

Buhari’s government wasted no time in ordering the arrests of virtually all key actors in politics. His detractors claimed that he was more benevolent to the Northern politicians, in the punishments meted to these politicians and that those from the southern parts of the country suffered the most. Whatever, the truth and motives may be, Buhari and his able lieutenant, Tunde Idiagbon, declared a massive war against corruption and indiscipline. Shagari was kept under house arrest while his deputy, Vice President Alex Ekwueme, who died earlier this year was hauled into Kirikiri Maximum Prison without any cogent justification. A very audacious attempt was made to cargo Umaru Dikko, one of the most powerful Shagari Ministers back to Nigeria from London in a coffin but Dikko was lucky as an alarm went out before he could be air-lifted.

It is a strange coincidence that Shagari was toppled at the tail end of December 1983 and he died yesterday towards the tail end of December 2018. Interestingly, President Buhari flagged off his re-election campaign in Uyo, Akwa Ibom, yesterday. It would be interesting to read what Buhari would have to say about a man he once overthrew in a military coup.

There was other news that broke yesterday. A picture came from the Presidential villa, in Abuja, that President Buhari has finally endorsed his Party’s Governorship candidate. I watched as the President and former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba, raised up the hands of oil baron, Dapo Abiodun, the candidate officially recognised by APC in a show of recognition of this noble, illustrious and industrious candidate. For the records, the incumbent Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, had strongly asserted that he would not recognise Dapo Abiodun as he won through a kangaroo arrangement with highly placed party apparatchik. Indeed, prior to this event, Amosun had tried hard to sell his anointed candidate, Abiodun Akinlade, who is now running on the platform of another party. As if this was not bizarre enough, another photograph flew in from the direction of Akwa Ibom where the President started his campaign and sat next to Governor Amosun on the Presidential jet back to Abuja. It appeared like a power show between the various camps of Amosun, Adams Oshiomhole, Tinubu and Abiodun, the quartet that are embroiled in this war of attrition between old friends. It is not known how substantial Chief Osoba’s role has been in this dizzying saga. But Ogun State seems to be setting new records in political conundrum.

STOP PRESS

Just as I was about reaching the end of this week’s article, another news flew in on Dangote. Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser issued what is obviously a disclaimer on the appearance of Aliko Dangote on the Presidential Campaign Council. According to Adesina:

“It has become imperative to further clarify the status of Alhaji Aliko Dangote, named under the sub-head ADVISORY MEMBERS in the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council announced on Friday, December 28, 2018.

Africa’s richest man, not being a card-carrying member of APC, cannot, and is not member of the PCC. He is also a member of the Peace Committee, and thus cannot be in a partisan campaign council.”

Adesina was silent on the fate of Aliko’s friend, Femi Otedola. The APC government needs to do more homework before publishing names anyhow. This type of expensive joke could have been avoided if they were not in a hurry to name-drop those names that were published yesterday. This was a massive own goal which could have reverberations and repercussions not just on the political scene, but in local and international business circles. There were reports that many of those names included in the list heard about their roles on social media. I think it is grossly unfair and totally unfortunate to drag people’s hard-earned reputation in the mud in order to score political points.

I do not envy some of the people mentioned. But at least, most of them are politicians and it may be being on the campaign team will help resurrect some dying and dead political careers! What this team will do to the fortunes of the APC is another matter.

As always, time will tell!

Headline

Opposition Parties Reject 2026 Electoral Act, Demand Fresh Amendment

Published

8 hours ago

February 26, 2026

Eric

Opposition political parties have rejected the 2026 Electoral Act recently passed by the National Assembly, which President Bola Tinubu swiftly signed into law.

The parties called on the National Assembly to immediately begin a fresh amendment process to remove what they described as “all obnoxious provisions” in the law.

Their position was made known at a press briefing themed “Urgent Call to Save Nigeria’s Democracy,” held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja on Thursday.

In a communiqué read by the Chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) Ahmed Ajuji, the opposition leaders stated:

“We demand that the National Assembly immediately commence a fresh amendment to the Electoral Act 2026, to remove all obnoxious provisions and ensure that the Act reflects only the will and aspiration of Nigerians for free, fair, transparent and credible electoral process in our country. Nothing short of this will be acceptable to Nigerians.”

Some of the opposition leaders present in at the event include former Senate President David Mark; former Governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola; former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi; and former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, all from the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

The National Chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Ahmed Ajuji, and other prominent members of the NNPP, notably Buba Galadima, were also in attendance.

The coalition said the amended law, signed by Bola Tinubu, contains “anti-democratic” clauses, which they argue may weaken electoral transparency and public confidence in the voting system.

At the centre of the opposition’s concerns is the amendment to Section 60(3), which allows presiding officers to rely on manual transmission of election results where there is communication failure.

According to the coalition, the provision weakens the mandatory electronic transmission of results and could create loopholes for manipulation.

They argued that Nigeria’s electoral technology infrastructure is sufficient to support nationwide electronic transmission, citing previous assurances by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The parties also rejected the amendment to Section 84, which restricts political parties to direct primaries and consensus methods for candidate selection.

They described the change as an unconstitutional intrusion into the internal affairs of parties, insisting that indirect primaries remain a legitimate democratic option.

The opposition cited alleged irregularities in the recent Federal Capital Territory local government elections as evidence of what they described as a broader pattern of electoral compromise.

They characterised the polls as a “complete fraud” and said the outcome has deepened their lack of confidence in the ability of the electoral system to deliver credible elections in 2027.

The coalition also condemned reported attacks on leaders of the African Democratic Congress in Edo State, describing the incidents as a serious threat to democratic participation and political tolerance.

They warned that increasing violence against opposition figures could destabilise the political environment if not urgently addressed.

In their joint statement, the opposition parties pledged to pursue “every constitutional means” to challenge the Electoral Act 2026 and safeguard voters’ rights.

“We will not be intimidated,” the leaders said, urging civil society organisations and citizens to support efforts aimed at protecting Nigeria’s democratic system.

On February 18, 2026, President Bola Tinubu signed the Electoral Act (Amendment) 2026 into law following its passage by the National Assembly. The Act introduced several reforms, including statutory recognition of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and revised election timelines.

However, opposition figures such as Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi have also called for further amendments, particularly over the manual transmission fallback clause, which critics say leaves room for manipulation.

The president said the law will strengthen democracy and prevent voter disenfranchisement.

Tinubu defended manual collation of results, questioned Nigeria’s readiness for full real-time electronic transmission, and warned against technical glitches and hacking.

The Electoral Act sparked intense debate in the National Assembly over how election results should be transmitted ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Civil society groups under the “Occupy NASS” campaign demanded real-time transmission to curb manipulation.

In the Senate, lawmakers clashed during consideration of Clause 60, which allows manual transmission of results if electronic transmission fails.

Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (ADC, Abia South) demanded a formal vote to remove the proviso permitting manual transmission, arguing against weakening real-time electronic reporting.

The move led to a heated exchange on the floor, with Senate President Godswill Akpabio initially suggesting the demand had been withdrawn.

After procedural disputes and a brief confrontation among senators, a division was conducted. Fifteen opposition senators voted against retaining the manual transmission proviso, while 55 supported it, allowing the clause to stand.

Earlier proceedings had briefly stalled during clause-by-clause review, prompting consultations and a closed-door session.

In the House of Representatives, a similar disagreement came up over a motion to rescind an earlier decision that mandated compulsory real-time electronic transmission of results to IReV.

Although the “nays” were louder during a voice vote, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas ruled in favour of rescinding the decision, triggering protests and an executive session.

Headline

AFP: How Tinubu’s Govt Paid Boko Haram ‘Huge’ Ransom, Released Two Terrorists for Kidnapped Saint Mary’s Pupils

Published

3 days ago

February 24, 2026

Eric

The Nigerian government paid Boko Haram militants a “huge” ransom of millions of dollars to free up to 230 children and staff the jihadists abducted from a Catholic school in November, an AFP investigation revealed Monday.

Two Boko Haram commanders were also freed as part of the deal, which goes against the country’s own law banning payments to kidnappers. The money was delivered by helicopter to Boko Haram’s Gwoza stronghold in northeastern Borno state on the border with Cameroon, intelligence sources told AFP.

The decision to pay the militants is likely to irritate US President Donald Trump, who ordered air strikes on jihadists in northern Nigeria on Christmas Day and has been sent military trainers to help support Nigerian forces.

Nigerian government officials deny any ransom was paid to the armed gang that snatched close to 300 schoolchildren and staff from St. Mary’s boarding school in Papiri in central Niger state on November 21. At least 50 later managed to escape their captors.

Boko Haram has not been previously linked to the kidnapping, but sources told AFP one of its most feared commanders was behind the mass abduction: the notorious jihadist known as Sadiku.

He infamously held up a train from the capital in 2022 and netted hefty ransoms for the release of government officials and other well-off passengers.

Boko Haram, which has waged a bloody insurgency since 2009, is strongest in northeast Nigeria.

But a cell in central Niger state operates under Sadiku’s leadership. The St. Mary’s pupils and staff were freed after two weeks of negotiations led by Nuhu Ribadu, Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, with the government insisting no ransom was paid. Nigeria’s State Security Service flatly denied paying any money, saying “government agents don’t pay ransoms”.

However, four intelligence sources familiar with the talks told AFP the government paid a “huge” ransom to get the pupils back. One source put it at 40 million naira per head – around $7 million in total.

Another put the figure lower at two billion naira overall. The money was delivered by chopper to Ali Ngulde, a Boko Haram commander in the northeast, three sources told AFP.

Due to the lack of communications cover in the remote area, Ngulde had to cross into Cameroon to confirm delivery of the ransom before the first group of 100 children were released.

Nigeria has long been plagued by mass abductions, with criminals and jihadist groups sometimes working together to extort millions from hostages’ families, and authorities seemingly powerless to stop them.

Source: Africanews

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Unlawful Invasion: El-Rufai Drags ICPC, IGP, Others to Court, Demands N1bn Damages

Published

3 days ago

February 23, 2026

Eric

Former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has slammed a ₦1 billion fundamental rights enforcement suit against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for what he claimed was an unlawful invasion of his Abuja residence.

El-Rufai, in a suit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, also listed the Chief Magistrate, Magistrate’s Court of the FCT, Abuja Magisterial District; Inspector-General of Police, and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as 2nd to 4th respondents respectively.

According to the suit filed through his lawyers, led by Oluwole Iyamu, El-Rufai prayed the court to declare that the search warrant issued on February 4 by the Chief Magistrate, Magistrate’s Court of the FCT (2nd respondent), authorising the search and seizure at his residence as invalid, null and void.

Security operatives had stormed and searched the former Governor’s residence in the ongoing investigations against him.

However, he argued in the case marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026, that the search was in violation of Section 37 of the Constitution, and urged the court to declare that the search warrant was “null and void for lack of particularity, material drafting errors, ambiguity in execution parameters, overbreadth, and absence of probable cause thereby constituting an unlawful and unreasonable search.”

In the suit dated and filed February 20 by Iyamu, ex-governor, who is currently under detention, sought seven reliefs.

He prayed the court to declare that the invasion and search of his residence at House 12, Mambilla Street, Aso Drive, Abuja, on Feb. 19 at about 2pm and executed by agents of ICPC and I-G, “under the aforesaid invalid warrant, amounts to a gross violation of the applicant’s fundamental rights to dignity of the human person, personal liberty, fair hearing, and privacy under Sections 34, 35, 36, and 37 of the Constitution.”

He urged the court to declare that “any evidence obtained pursuant to the aforesaid invalid warrant and unlawful search is inadmissible in any proceedings against the applicant, as it was procured in breach of constitutional safeguards.”

El-Rufai, therefore, sought an order of injunction restraining the respondents and their agents from further relying on, using, or tendering any evidence or items seized during the unlawful search in any investigation, prosecution, or proceedings involving him.

“An order directing the Ist and 3rd respondents (ICPC and I-G) to forthwith return all items seized from the applicant’s premises during the unlawful search, together with a detailed inventory thereof.

“An order awarding the sum of N1,000,000,000.00 (One Billion Naira) as general, exemplary, and aggravated damages against the respondents jointly and severally for the violations of the applicant’s fundamental rights, including trespass, unlawful seizure, and the resultant psychological trauma, humiliation, distress, infringement of privacy, and reputational harm.”

The breakdown of the ₦1 billion in damages includes “a N300 million as compensatory damages for psychological trauma, emotional distress, and loss of personal security;

“A ₦400 million as exemplary damages to deter future misconduct by law enforcement agencies and vindicate the applicant’s rights.

“A ₦300 million as aggravated damages for the malicious, high-handed and oppressive nature of the respondents’ actions, including the use of a patently defective warrant procured through misleading representations.”

He equally sought ₦100 million as the cost of filing the suit, including legal fees and associated expenses.

Iyamu argued that the search warrant was fundamentally defective, lacking specificity in the description of items to be seized, containing material typographical errors, ambiguous execution terms, overbroad directives, and no verifiable probable cause.

He added that the warrant violated Sections 143-148 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015; Section 36 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences (ICPC) Act, 2000, and constitutional protections against arbitrary intrusions and several other constitutional provisions.

“Section 146 stipulates that the warrant must be in the prescribed form, free from defects that could mislead, but the document is riddled with errors in the address, date, and district designation;

“Section 147 allows direction to specified persons, but the warrant’s indiscriminate addressing to “all officers is overbroad and unaccountable.

“Section 148 permits execution at reasonable times, but the contradictory language creates ambiguity, undermining procedural clarity,” he submitted.

Iyamu stated that the execution of the invalid warrant on Feb. 19 resulted in an unlawful invasion of his client’s premises, constituting violations of the rights to dignity (Section 34), personal liberty (Section 35), fair hearing (Section 36), and privacy (Section 37) of the Constitution.

He further argued that the search was conducted without legal justification and in a manner that inflicted humiliation and distress.

“Evidence obtained without a valid warrant is unlawful and inadmissible, as established in judicial precedents such as C.O.P. v. Omoh (1969) NCLR 137, where the court ruled that evidence procured through improper means contravenes fundamental rights and must be excluded,” he said.

In the affidavit in support of the application, Mohammed Shaba, a Principal Secretary to the former governor, averred that on Feb. 19 at about 2p.m., officers from the ICPC and Nigeria Police Force invaded the residence under a purported search warrant issued on or about Feb. 4.

According to him, the said warrant is invalid due to its lack of specificity, errors, and other defects as outlined in the grounds of this application.

He said the “search warrant did not specify the properties or items being searched for.”

Shaba stated that the officers failed to submit themselves for search as provided by the law before proceeding with the search.

“That the Magistrate did not specify the magisterial district wherein he sits.

“That during the invasion, the officers searched the applicant’s premises without lawful authority, seized personal items including documents and electronic devices, and caused the applicant undue humiliation, psychological trauma, and distress.

“Now shown to me and marked as ‘EXHIBIT B’ Is the list of the items carted away.

“That no items seized have been returned, and the respondents continue to rely on the unlawful evidence.

“That the applicant suffered violations of his constitutional rights as a result, and this application is brought in good faith to enforce same,” Shaba said.

Source: Naijanews.com