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Justice Akintayo Aluko sitting at the Federal High Court, in Ikoyi, Lagos, has dismissed an application by Afolabi Michael Kazeem, also known as KC Luxury, seeking to overturn an order extending his detention for 30 days over alleged involvement in the trafficking of 184.5 Kilogrammes of cocaine.

In dismissing the application, Justice Aluko held that the detention extension order granted on August 20, this year, was properly issued and backed by the Constitution and relevant drug-control laws.

The ruling followed an earlier fundamental rights suit filed by Kazeem before Justice Friday Ogazi, who ordered the NDLEA to produce him in court within 14 days and directed the agency to respond to his challenge against his continued detention. Kazeem had alleged that his detention was unlawful and violated his constitutional rights, and sought his release or bail.

Kazeem through his lawyer, Abdulakeem Labi-lawal (SAN) had asked the court to set aside or strike out the order, arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction to extend his detention.

The lawyer had contended that only a Magistrate Court could issue a remand order under Sections 293 to 299 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, describing the detention extension as an unlawful interference with the suspect’s constitutional right to personal liberty.

However, NDLEA through its lawyer, Abu Ibrahim, dismissed the argument as a misconception of the nature of the order granted by the court.

Abu maintained that the August 20 order was not a remand order under the ACJA but an extension of detention granted to enable the relevant agency conduct detailed investigations into the alleged drug trafficking offence.

According to the ruling, Kazeem was arrested on August 13, this year, at the departure hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, while allegedly attempting to travel to Paris, France.

NDLEA had told the court that the suspect’s arrest was sequel to the seizure of 184.5kg of cocaine at DHL, Ikeja, Lagos, with the agency alleging that the suspect, KC Luxury was connected to the shipment.

Delivering judgment in the application yesterday, Justice Aluko held that Sections 293 to 299 of the ACJA, which deal with remand proceedings, were not applicable to the case before the court.

The judge also held that it has ‘exclusive’ jurisdiction over drug-related matters by virtue of Section 251(1)(m) of the Constitution and Section 26(1) of the NDLEA Act.

The judge further held that the evidence presented by the NDLEA established reasonable suspicion of a drug-related offence, justifying temporary deprivation of liberty under Section 35 of the constitution.

Justice Aluko consequently dismissed KC Luxury’s application for being an abuse of court process and lack in merit.

The ruling, therefore, leaves the 30-day detention extension granted on August 20, this year, in force.

NDLEA has filed a 22-count charge of drug related offences against the suspect, Afolabi Michael Kazeem a.k.a. KC Luxury, though no date has been fixed for his arraignment.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday hailed Nigeria’s victory over Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited at an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration tribunal in Paris, declaring that the ruling has cleared the ‘single biggest legal hurdle’ that paralysed the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project for years.

Tinubu was reacting to an award in favour of Nigeria in the long-running arbitration arising from disputes surrounding the development of the 3,960-megawatt Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project in Taraba State.

Sunrise had demanded $680 million as a settlement sum and interest in relation to another arbitration in which it claimed more than $2.7 billion in compensation and interest over the project.

The President described the outcome as an affirmation of Nigeria’s resolve not to succumb to what he called ‘predatory and exploitative claims’ against the country’s resources.

‘Today’s ICC ruling clears the single biggest legal hurdle that has paralysed the Mambilla hydro power project for years,’ Tinubu said in a statement he personally issued.

‘This latest decision affirms the Nigerian State’s determination not to succumb to predatory and exploitative claims by corrupt local and international entities and their enablers and funders’, he added.

The dispute has its roots in events dating back more than two decades.

In May 2003, then Minister of Power and Steel, Dr Olu Agunloye, issued Sunrise a preliminary letter of award relating to the development of the Mambilla hydropower project under a Build, Operate and Transfer arrangement.

The Federal Government’s position, subsequently maintained in the arbitration and related proceedings, was that neither then President Olusegun Obasanjo nor the Federal Executive Council approved the purported award.

Evidence subsequently presented in the ongoing criminal proceedings involving Agunloye also indicated that the Federal Executive Council did not approve the contract at its May 21, 2003 meeting. Agunloye has denied wrongdoing in relation to the contract.

After the government subsequently retendered the project and awarded it to another contractor in 2007, Sunrise commenced litigation against Nigeria, seeking to stop the development of the project without its involvement or, alternatively, obtain damages.

In 2012, the Federal Ministry of Power entered into a General Project Execution Agreement with Sunrise and Sinohydro as efforts were made to resolve the dispute and facilitate the project.

Another contract for the project was awarded in 2017 to a consortium of Chinese companies, excluding Sunrise, prompting the company to institute arbitration proceedings at the ICC.

The dispute subsequently became one of Nigeria’s most consequential international commercial arbitration cases and contributed to prolonged uncertainty around the execution of the hydropower project.

Attempts were made to resolve the matter through settlement, culminating in Terms of Settlement in January 2020 and an addendum in March of that year.

The Federal Government subsequently maintained that the agreements did not receive the approvals required to become binding.

Against that background, Tinubu said Thursday’s ruling represented a major breakthrough in the government’s efforts to disentangle the Mambilla project from years of legal complications.

The President, however, assured genuine investors that Nigeria remained committed to honouring its legitimate legal obligations and partnering with credible local and foreign businesses.

‘I want to assure you that while our country remains committed to partnering with genuine investors and honouring its legal obligations, it will continue to defend all opportunistic claims instituted against our commonwealth strongly’, he said.

Tinubu commended the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, and the Federal Ministry of Justice team for their handling of the arbitration.

He also praised Nigeria’s defence team, led by Elizabeth Oger-Gross and Tolu Obamuroh of Paul Hastings LLP, for what he described as their professional and excellent defence of the country.

The President particularly acknowledged former President Obasanjo and the late former President Muhammadu Buhari for testifying in the arbitration.

‘I commend the patriotism and support of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, and late President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, who testified in the case, which dated back to an illegal 2003 contract to build a 3,050-megawatt hydroelectric plant in Taraba State under a build-operate-transfer model. The Federal Executive Council never authorised the contract,’ Tinubu said.

Obasanjo had publicly maintained that he never approved the award of the Mambilla contract to Sunrise, saying he only directed that the proposal be presented to the Federal Executive Council for consideration. His position subsequently formed part of the Federal Government’s defence in the arbitration.

Sunrise and parties associated with the original contract have previously disputed the government’s account of events surrounding the project.

Tinubu also thanked former Ministers Babatunde Raji Fashola and Suleiman Adamu, as well as other witnesses and experts who participated in defending Nigeria’s interests during the proceedings.

He further commended the National Security Adviser for supporting the government’s efforts and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for its investigation into the circumstances surrounding the dispute.

The EFCC has separately prosecuted Agunloye over allegations relating to the award of the Mambilla contract. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and the criminal proceedings are separate from the international arbitration.

The Mambilla project, conceived as one of Nigeria’s biggest power projects, has remained incomplete despite successive attempts by different administrations to revive it.

Its legal complications became sufficiently significant that the Federal Government cited the disputes in explaining why the project received no allocation in the Federal Ministry of Power’s proposed 2024 budget.

Tinubu said the latest arbitration victory should now remove a major impediment that had prevented the project from moving forward.

‘God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria,’ Tinubu concluded.

Southwest Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA) in Lagos State has inaugurated zonal coordinators and local government executives as part of efforts to mobilise grassroots support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his re-election bid in 2027.

The inauguration, held yesterday at the Eko FM Multipurpose Hall in Lagos, brought together party stakeholders, coordinators and grassroots executives from across the state.

Speaking at the event, SWAGA National Chairman, Monsuru Owolabi, said the inauguration was aimed at strengthening the organisation’s structures and linking its national objectives with grassroots mobilisation.

Owolabi said the new executives had been entrusted with the responsibility of re-energising the organisation’s base and deepening community engagement across Lagos.

He said: ‘What we are doing today at this Eko FM Multipurpose Hall is not just a ceremonial gathering; it is a systematic consolidation of our political capital.

‘By inaugurating our zonal, LG and LCDA executives, we are establishing the vital links between our national aspirations and executives.’

He urged the new coordinators to remain committed to the organisation’s objectives, stressing that their selection was a testament to their loyalty and commitment to the progressive cause.

Owolabi said Lagos remained a strong base of progressive politics, urging the executives to ensure that SWAGA’s structures were active and rooted in the communities they represented.

He also called for unity and discipline among members, advising the new executives to avoid internal conflicts and embrace inclusivity.

The chairman said: ‘As you return to your respective zones, LGAs and LCDAs, let unity, discipline and hard work be your watchwords. Avoid internal frictions, embrace inclusivity and let our shared objective remain the ultimate prize.’

Also speaking, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Kayode Opeifa, urged the newly inaugurated executives to intensify grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

He said the organisation should work towards improving President Tinubu’s electoral performance in Lagos, claiming that the President secured about 51 per cent of the votes cast in the state in the 2023 presidential election.

He advised the executives to begin mobilisation early by engaging residents in their respective communities and persuading them to support Tinubu.

Opeifa described the forthcoming election as challenging and challenged the coordinators to demonstrate their capacity by delivering their respective local government areas.

He further urged SWAGA members to work towards securing four million votes for Tinubu from Lagos State in the next presidential election.

Former Chairman of Irewole Local Government, Osun State, Babajide Jooda, has filed N500million suit against the Inspector-General of Police (IG), Tunji Disu, a former Force Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin and five others for allegedly declaring him wanted based on a forged court order.

Jooda, in the fundamental rights enforcement suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CV/511/2026, filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja, also listed as respondents, Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Police Service Commission (PSC), Commissioner of Police, Osun State Command, Commissioner of Police, Intelligence Response Team, Abuja, former Chief Magistrate, Karu, Ahmed Ndajiwo, the Registrar, Chief Magistrate Court, Karu, Muktar Yusuf, Abass Oladipupo and 11 police officers.

It is his contention that the arrest warrant and the advertorials allegedly signed by Hundeyin and published in major national newspapers, declaring him wanted in February 2026 for terrorism, illegal possession of firearms and culpable homicide, were illegal.

Jooda, who was arrested by the police alongside some suspects over the alleged murder of reinstated chairman of Irewole Local Government Area, Remi Abass, and later released, claimed that the court order which purportedly authorised the publications was forged.

He stated, in a supporting affidavit, that the police, on three occasions, filed separate criminal charges against him, which were subsequently withdrawn.

Jooda further stated that his names were struck out from the charges, following which he was released from custody, adding that the criminal charges previously filed against him at a Magistrate’s Court in Osun State were equally abandoned by the police’s prosecutors.

The applicant, who claimed that the actions of the police were politically motivated, said he was shocked to learn that the police declared him wanted after withdrawing the multiple charges against him.

Jooda, who said he was oppressed, embarrassed, intimidated and dehumanised by the police, is praying the court for among other reliefs, general damages of N250million in addition to exemplary damage of N250million.

Before filing the suit, Jooda had petitioned the Minister of Police Affairs about the advertorials, accusing the police authorities of maligning his character with the defamatory publications.

In the petition written by his lawyer, Chiemeka Okereke, Jooda demanded a public apology to be published within seven days and N50million compensation.

Part of the petition reads: ”It is our brief that sometimes on 26th February, 2025, you went to one Chief Magistrate in FCT and obtained a warrant of arrest for an offence allegedly committed in Ikire township, Osun State, to arrest our client. The said warrant of arrest turned out to be forged and fake. Furthermore, you proceeded with the forged/fake document and published in your Special Police Gazette Bulletin.”

The Bayelsa State Government has recruited at least 800 primary healthcare workers into the Unified Local Government Service.

The new employees, including 19 medical doctors and 204 nurses and midwives, were formally received at an orientation programme organised by the Local Government Service Commission and the State Primary Health Care Management Board at the Yenagoa Local Government Council Secretariat on Wednesday.

Deputy Governor Dr Peter Akpe, represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff, Deputy Governor’s Office, Mr Gowon Toruyouyei, described the exercise as the single largest bloc employment in the local government system.

He said the beneficiaries were given priority for their service as volunteers under the Gavi Health Systems Strengthening Programme, noting that Governor Douye Diri was known for rewarding hard work and dedication.

Akpe described primary healthcare as an essential service and the foundation of the tertiary healthcare system. He charged the new workers to justify the confidence reposed in them and warned against absenteeism, particularly among PHC staff serving in hinterland communities.

Chairman of the Bayelsa State Local Government Service Commission, Chief Lambert Ototo, said the workers had served as volunteers for between two and three years before Governor Diri approved their employment.

He said the orientation marked their transition from volunteer status to full employees of the Unified Local Government Service, adding that the commission would conduct routine inspections of health centres to monitor attendance.

‘The Governor, in his love for youths of Bayelsa State, graciously approved the employment of not less than 800 persons into a very critical sector,’ Ototo said.

Commissioner for Health, Prof. Seiyefa Brisibe, described the recruitment as a paradigm shift in the state’s health sector, saying it would lay the foundation for improved health outcomes.

Brisibe said Bayelsa now had at least two primary healthcare centres per ward, with each linked to at least one cottage hospital per State Assembly constituency, while every local government area had either a referral or comprehensive general hospital.

He added that the health facilities were now interconnected through dedicated telephone lines.

According to him, 19 doctors and 204 nurses and midwives had, for the first time in a long while, been employed directly into the primary healthcare system, with the doctors scheduled to hold periodic clinical days at PHC facilities.

Brisibe charged the workers to work as a team to ensure that no child under five or pregnant woman died from preventable complications.

He recalled that the renovation and solarisation of the Ogbotubo Community Health Centre resulted in 13 safe deliveries within three weeks.

Executive Secretary of the Bayelsa State Primary Health Care Board, Dr Williams Appah, described the recruitment as historic, saying it demonstrated Governor Diri’s commitment to meeting the health needs of rural dwellers, pregnant women and children.

Appah, however, warned against truancy, presenteeism, indecent dressing and illegal collection of money from patients already covered by the Basic Health Care Provision Fund.

He said the Board has introduced ODK monitoring and electronic medical records via Android phones, adding that reporting, attendance and prescriptions will now be done electronically.

‘If you do not use the ODK and do not go to work, there will be no salary. The era when PHC staff work without Android phones has passed,’ he said.

Permanent Secretary, Local Government Service Commission, Dr. Amokiese Godwin, in her welcome remarks, said the Commission had been pushing for the employment since 2021 without success until now, and described the appointment as a call to service at the grassroots.

Delta State Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, has said the economic reforms of President Bola Tinubu are beginning to stabilise the Nigerian economy, with the potential to improve purchasing power and drive sustainable growth.

Aniagwu, who spoke on Morning Dew, a programme on DOTT TV, said the reforms should be viewed beyond the immediate economic difficulties they have caused.

He stressed that their broader objective is to reposition the economy for long-term stability and growth.

He likened the reform process to treating an injury, saying that although the application of iodine to an open wound could intensify pain temporarily, the ultimate objective is to facilitate healing.

According to him, Nigeria had suffered years of economic distortions, including fiscal pressures, inadequate revenue, foreign exchange challenges and weak productive capacity, which made fundamental reforms necessary.

He said: ‘When you sustain an injury, there is a tendency that you are going to experience some pain. Again when you apply iodine to treat such open wound, it tends to cause further discomfort, but after some time, the injury begins to heal.’

Aniagwu also compared the reform process to choosing between two vehicles travelling to different destinations.

He said Nigerians might prefer the comfort of a luxury vehicle, but if it was heading in the wrong direction, a less comfortable vehicle travelling towards the desired destination would ultimately be the better route.

He said the Tinubu administration had chosen the latter path by undertaking difficult reforms designed to correct structural problems in the economy.

The commissioner acknowledged that the reforms had brought significant pressure on households, particularly through higher prices of goods and services, but argued that the government’s focus was gradually shifting from macroeconomic stabilisation to measures capable of improving conditions at the grassroots.

His position is partly reflected in recent assessments by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

The IMF said reforms implemented over the past three years had improved Nigeria’s macroeconomic outcomes and resilience, while noting that poverty and food insecurity remained serious challenges.

The World Bank similarly said Nigeria had made progress in restoring macroeconomic stability, with inflation easing, external and fiscal positions strengthening and economic growth remaining resilient, although household incomes had yet to recover fully.

Aniagwu said one of the key benefits of stabilising the macroeconomic environment was that governments would have greater capacity to pay salaries, pensions and contractors, thereby injecting money into the wider economy.

He explained that when workers receive their salaries on time, the money circulate through schools, shops, transport operators, landlords, farmers, traders and other businesses.

He said the same principle applied to government infrastructure projects, arguing that payment to contractors create economic activity because contractors subsequently purchase materials, engage workers and patronise other businesses.

‘Once the purchasing power is enhanced, people make more demands. When they make more demands, farmers can afford to grow more,’ he said.

Aniagwu also cited government intervention programmes targeted at small businesses and vulnerable Nigerians as part of efforts to move the benefits of economic stabilisation from the macroeconomic level to households.

He said the Federal Government and states needed to continue implementing measures that would strengthen productive capacity, support small businesses and improve the ability of Nigerians to participate meaningfully in economic activities.

The commissioner said the reforms should therefore be understood as a gradual process, stressing that economic transformation could not be achieved overnight.

He added that the objective should be to create an economy in which improved fiscal stability, stronger production, increased investment and enhanced purchasing power eventually translate into better living conditions for Nigerians.

The IMF has projected Nigeria’s real GDP growth at 4.1 per cent for 2026 and 4.3 per cent for 2027, while stressing that sustained reforms, fiscal discipline and policies that support inclusive growth would remain important.