General
N12.3bn Loan: Court Orders Otudeko Arraignment, Adjourns till May 8
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The chairman of Honeywell Group, Mr Oba Otudeko, has been ordered to appear before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos at the next adjourned date, May 8, 2025.
Mr Otudeko is expected answer questions raised by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over a loan controversy involving N12.3 billion, believed to have been taken from First Bank.
At the court on Monday, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke noted that no preliminary objections would be considered until the businessman responds to the charges against.
The judge ruled that Mr Otudeko must be arraigned before the court considers any arguments about its authority to handle the case, referencing previous legal rulings, specifically the cases of Onnoghen v. FRN and Bello v. FRN, to support this decision, reinforcing the principle that a defendant’s plea must be addressed before any other applications can be heard.
“The issue before the court is whether the processes can be taken before the arraignment of the defendants. Any preliminary objection to the validity of a charge can only be heard after the plea is taken. This is now a condition precedent, and this court is bound by the decision.
“I agree with the learned counsel for the prosecution—no preliminary objection can be taken without the arraignment of the defendants. This is my view,” Justice Aneke said.
At a hearing on February 13, Mr Otudeko’s lawyers had argued that their objections should be heard before they take their plea, but the court has now ruled against that request.
Despite the ruling, Mr Otudeko’s lead lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), told the court that efforts are being made to settle the matter out of court, noting that a meeting was held on March 12 with key parties, especially the first defendant and the prosecution.
Other defence lawyers, Kehinde Ogunwumiju (SAN), Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), and Charles Adeosun-Phillips (SAN), supported Olanipekun’s request for the case to be postponed so that settlement talks could continue without disruption.
However, the prosecuting counsel, Bilkisu Buhari-Bala, requested an adjournment for either an arraignment or a settlement report.
Despite the defence’s insistence on a settlement report, Buhari-Bala maintained that proceedings should continue with either an arraignment or an update on settlement efforts.
In response, the court granted the defence’s request and adjourned the case until May 8, 2025, for a report on the settlement efforts.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The United States government gave some terrorists in Nigeria a Christmas gift that sent many of them to the great beyond.
On Thursday, December 25, 2025, the United States President, Mr Donald Trump, directed his country’s military to launch air strikes on camps of members of the dreaded Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Sokoto State.
According to Mr Trump, the military action, which he threatened to carry out a few weeks ago if the Nigerian government does not stop the killing of Christians in the country, occurred on Thursday night.
“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!
“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was.
“The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.
“Under my leadership, our country will not allow radical islamic terrorism to prosper. May God bless our military, and Merry Christmas to all, including the dead terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
In a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Department of War of the United States posted the below video of the air strikes;
https://twitter.com/DeptofWar/status/2004351717131903272
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The presidency has reacted to speculations that Mr Femi Gbajabiamila has been removed as the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu.
It was alleged that Mr Gbajabiamila has been replaced with the President’s Principal Private Secretary, Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola.
Mr Muri-Okunola went to Abuja to take up this role after leaving as the Head of Service of the Lagos State Civil Service.
Reacting to the reports on social media on the purported removal of Mr Gbajabiamila, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, the presidency said no such change has been made.
In a statement signed on Thursday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, members of the public were advised to disregard the report as “there is absolutely no truth to this story.”
“The Chief of Staff remains in his position. The Principal Private Secretary likewise remains in his role. Hakeem Muri-Okunola has not replaced Femi Gbajabiamila as Chief of Staff.
“The viral claim is a fabrication by mischievous purveyors of fake news whose sole aim is to create disharmony within the government.
“We reiterate that news media should always verify their information before publishing or sharing on social media,” the statement said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The new chief executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, has assumed office with a clear message to advance the country’s upstream oil and gas sector in line with the mandate of the commission as enshrined in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
According to a statement signed by Mr Eniola Akinkuotu, the Head of Media & Strategic Communications at the upstream regulator, the NUPRC boss made this assertation during her first town hall meeting with management and staff on Tuesday December 23, 2025.
She further disclosed plans to make the commission a business enabler and re-ignite investments in the upstream sector.
Recall that President Tinubu nominated Mrs Eyesan to take over the NUPRC after the abrupt resignation of her predecessor, Mr Gbenga Komolafe as well as his counterpart in the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr Farouk Ahmed.
In her new capacity, Mrs Eyesan also set a firm production ambition of growing Nigeria’s output and increasing gas production.
“The goal is that we must enable the industry, we are regulators. We must enable the industry from our interactions with the stakeholders, from our interactions with everybody.
“My main objective is to ensure that we make a difference. I believe the NUPRC is at the Center of the industry,” she said.
The commission boss who has served for over three decades in the oil and gas sector, promised to entrench digitisation, transparency and efficiency in operations.
The NUPRC head said with the support of staff and management, the NUPRC will become the gold-standard regulator in Africa. She also promised capacity development, stronger technical depth and sustained engagement with stakeholders, unions and professional teams.
On leadership style, Mrs Eyesan promised an open-door policy and frequent staff engagement, while also soliciting for support and cooperation as the industry embarks on the next phase of transformation.
“If we work together we can unleash opportunities, I don’t see impediments only opportunities,” she added.
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