Category: Judiciary

Court Orders HYPADEC to Pay Rafi Community N2.076bn Compensation, Resettle Flood Victims

Lukman Laleye Babalola

By Uthman Baba-Naseer,Minna.       A High Court sitting in Minna has ordered the Hydro Electric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPADEC) to pay N2.076 billion in compensation to the Danu Jumu Community in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State over losses allegedly caused by flooding from the release of water from a dam. Justice Mohammed Adishetu Mohammed, who delivered the judgment in Suit No. NSHC/MN/77/2023, also directed HYPADEC and other defendants to resettle the affected community to a safer location away from the dam. The suit was…

Court Affirms NDPC’s Authority to Register Major Data Controllers, Processors

Lukman Laleye Babalola

The Federal High Court has affirmed the statutory powers of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) to register Data Controllers and Processors of Major Importance (DCPMIs), in a landmark judgment strengthening data accountability and regulatory oversight in Nigeria. The ruling followed a suit filed by Emmanuel Harunna (Suit No. FHC/L/CS/1116/2024), who sought a declaration that Point of Sale (POS) agents are not Data Controllers or Processors of Major Importance under the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, and an order restraining the Commission from registering such entities. Delivering judgment, Justice F.N.…

Ex-Minister Gimba Sues ADC Over Niger South Senatorial Primary

Emporium Reporters

By Uthman Baba-Naseer, Minna     Former Minister of Sports, Barrister Abdulrahman Gimba, has filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Minna challenging the outcome of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) primary election that produced Rt. Hon. Baba Shehu Agaie as the party’s candidate for the Niger South Senatorial District. In the suit, FHC/MN/CS/55/2026, Gimba is asking the court to nullify the primary election, alleging that the exercise was not conducted in several local government areas and wards across the senatorial district. The defendants in the suit are…

Court Jails Two Ansaru Commanders for Life Over Oyo School Kidnap, Terrorism

Emporium Reporters

A Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced two senior commanders of the Ansaru terrorist group to life imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to terrorism, kidnapping for ransom, terrorism financing and other related offences. The convicts, Mahmud Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a, Abbas and Mukhtar, described by prosecutors as the self-styled Emir of Ansaru, and Abubakar Abba, alias Mahmud al-Nigeri and Malam Mamuda, admitted guilt to a 32-count charge filed against them by the Department of State Services (DSS). The pair were identified as key masterminds of the abduction…

Badejo-Okusanya Breaks Barrier, Becomes NBA’s Second Female President

Emporium Reporters

Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, has been elected President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), making history as only the second woman to lead the country’s foremost association of legal practitioners. Badejo-Okusanya emerged victorious in the 2026 NBA presidential election after polling 12,317 votes, representing 47.18 per cent of the 26,106 valid ballots cast in the electronic election conducted over a 24-hour period from Saturday to Sunday. She defeated two other candidates to secure the association’s highest office, with the results announced shortly after the close of voting…

Federal High Court Unveils New Rules to Fast-Track Pre-Election Cases

Lukman Laleye Babalola

The Federal High Court has unveiled the Federal High Court (Pre-Election) Practice Directions (Amendment), 2026, introducing fresh measures aimed at accelerating the hearing and determination of pre-election disputes in line with constitutional and electoral timelines. The development was disclosed in a press release issued on Tuesday by the Director of Information of the Federal High Court, Dr. Catherine Oby Christopher, who said the amended Practice Directions were issued by the Honourable Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Hon. Justice John Terhemba Tsoho, OFR. The amendment revised the initial Federal…

Court Reserves Ruling on APC Aspirant’s Bid to Amend Name in Magama/Rijau Primary Election Suit

Emporium Reporters

By Uthman Baba-Naseer, Minna     The Federal High Court in Minna, Niger State, has fixed July 16, 2026, to rule on an application by an All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirant, Alhaji Shehu Samaila Auna, seeking to amend his name in a suit challenging the party’s primary election for the Magama/Rijau Federal Constituency ahead of the 2027 general elections. The substantive suit seek the cancellation of the APC primary election that produced Professor Yakubu Mohammed Auna as the party’s candidate, with the plaintiff alleging that no valid primary election was…

Court Records Show Mutu’s Earlier Acquittal Remains Valid as Fresh Questions Trail Subsequent Forfeiture Judgment

Emporium Reporters

By Teddy Onyejuwe     Fresh facts have emerged indicating that the recent judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordering the forfeiture of funds linked to a company associated with Hon. Nicholas Mutu has not invalidated or superseded an earlier judgment of a court of coordinate jurisdiction which discharged and acquitted the serving member of the House of Representatives and two companies on all criminal charges filed against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). JUDGEMENT (FRN V. MUTU)_033318 Investigations by our correspondent, including a review…

APC House of Reps Primary: Court Adjourns Suit Challenging Prof Auna’s Nomination to July 9

Emporium Reporters

By Uthman Baba-Naseer, Minna       The Federal High Court in Minna, Niger State, has adjourned to July 9, 2026, for the commencement of hearing in a suit challenging the emergence of Prof. Yakubu Mohammed Auna as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Magama/Rijau Federal Constituency ahead of the 2027 general election. The suit was filed by Alhaji Shehu Samaila Auna, who is asking the court to nullify the APC primary election, alleging that no valid primary was conducted in the constituency despite the declaration of Prof.…

Niger JUSUN Unveils Election Guidelines, Warns Against Vote Buying, Violence

Emporium Reporters

By Uthman Baba-Naseer, Minna     The Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), Niger State Branch, has unveiled the guidelines and code of conduct for its forthcoming branch election, warning aspirants and their supporters against vote buying, violence and other forms of electoral misconduct. The Branch Electoral Committee (BEC) said only financial members of the union who meet the eligibility requirements contained in the JUSUN Constitution and the approved Election Guidelines would be allowed to purchase and submit nomination forms. According to the committee, obtaining and submitting a nomination form…