General
At Jumia, Every Opinion Counts Irrespective of Gender—Ajagunna
Adejoju Ajagunna is the Head of Customer Service at Jumia Nigeria. In this interview, she spoke extensively on the challenges of working in the COVID-19 era, balancing the roles as a career woman and mother, and the equal opportunity for career growth at the e-commerce company. Excerpts:
What does International Women’s Day mean to you?
It means inspiration where I am inspired to dare and to do more. A day where every female gender irrespective of our profession or status is recognized globally, a day where it is important to celebrate the success and growth of every woman, one who has been able to conquer, who has been able to stand for her rights and explore the full potential of herself with no restriction to any obstacle.
We need to celebrate every gender called “WOMAN” as the world appreciates our hard work, resilience, struggles, wins and achievements, a day the world stands for “US” and reflects on the impact we have made in society. Officially a day that is devoted in celebration of all women but to me, every day is IWD because we create magic always
How has COVID-19 affected your role in Jumia since the pandemic started?
2020 has been the most challenging and daring of my 8 years in Jumia where opportunities were explored and we had to transition to a new normal by activating work from home in our attempt to ensure our consumers do not lack general essential and food supply due to restriction in the movement for most parts of the country.
In the beginning, it was a struggle supporting the team to suddenly change the dynamics of how we use to work by commencing remote working and adapting to the new tools.
Some of our team members were not sure if this was going to be possible or if we could achieve our number one goal of ‘winning the love of our customers in a pandemic where few of our processes had to be reviewed by ensuring all COVID-19 guidelines were adhered to.
The pandemic has brought about CHANGE where alternate channels of a new work-lifestyle are continuously being integrated without compromising the JUMIA standard. With all of these, I had to ensure we give time for the new learning curve, adequate support for onboarding and mastering of the new normal as we are the Jumia ambassadors
What are the challenges you’ve encountered in your career as a woman and how did you overcome it?
Well, most of my challenges came in my early stages of taking up a leadership role especially with managing the largest team where women are the largest team members, it was not easy managing the diversity of all types of human with the mindset that my processor was male as such it was expected that the role should be dominated by the male gender.
So, what I did was, I wore the shoes of the male gender and walked the walk by keeping the momentum and turning around the situation in taking up the mantle of leadership. It was also difficult to balance the curve of attaining a leadership role and being an awesome mum to my children especially when they were toddlers who could not understand why I could not be present for storytime in their schools and feel saddened by my unavailability but I have been able to create time at the homefront while I make it up to them in creating that schooling atmosphere at home by playing & learning which is moulding their values to create opportunities when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade out of it.
How will you say Jumia is contributing to the growth/development of female staff?
There are several ways Jumia contributes to the development of her female staff, one of such initiatives used in promoting gender equality in the provision of mentor programs which helps to guide us through any challenge in the course of our career without any gender exclusion.
We also have the opportunity of the women forum where we all come together to discuss business, obstacles, opportunities and work-life balance and honestly, it has been engaging and rewarding as you see staff from all levels relate and share learnings, I would say, it’s always a way to learn, relearn & unlearn.
What impact has gender equality made on your life and work?
Jumia is an organization that allows you to explore opportunities as long as you can earn them by hard work and a lot of positive push. One of our core values “You don’t need a title to a leader” allows equal rights amongst all which genuinely values your contribution and supports you to grow even as a woman.
Most of the C-levels in Jumia are women who in one way or the other have contributed to the immense growth of the business. Jumia has promoted equality as every opinion counts irrespective of your sex or level.
What female figure motivates you?
Actually, there are two particular female figures that inspire me: one is African while the other is American. The question for me is why these two women inspire me: they are women who have made good use of the opportunities around them with a powerful resilience not to stop but continue to ensure that their achievements continue to impact the lives of women especially the young & upcoming ones.
The first figure is Chimamanda Adichie who is a Nigerian, a writer of short stories & novels, I am stuck on one of her quotes ‘When there is true equality, resentment does not exist.’
My second female figure is Hilary Clinton; a politician. Both women are an inspiration to me because of their strong will and confidence level, I admire their courage in how they have done things differently.
What is the most important piece of advice you’d give to a woman thinking of starting her career?
There is so much pressure from the world out there where our young women are not sure of who they are or what they stand for, which sometimes makes them lose priority and focus.
However, my message to young women out there and generally to women “Be YOU…Be ENOUGH”: fuel your passion, making mistakes is allowed, it does not stop you from achieving your goals but in the end, you learn from it and this makes you a better woman. Make sure you work hard and have fun by celebrating your achievements and giving yourself a pat on the back.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The share certificates, seven landed properties, and $2.1 million linked to the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, have been finally forfeited to the federal government.
The final forfeiture was affirmed by a unanimous judgment delivered by a five-member panel of the Supreme Court on Friday, July 17, 2026.
The panel led by Justice Ibrahim Mohammed Saulawa set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal and affirmed the decision of the Federal High Court, Lagos, which had ordered the final forfeiture of the assets on the grounds that they were reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities.
Following the final forfeiture order made by the Federal High Court, Mr Emefiele challenged the decision before the Court of Appeal, which reversed the judgment of the trial court.
Dissatisfied with the appellate court’s decision, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) approached the apex court, which has now restored and affirmed the judgment of the Federal High Court.
The forfeited properties include a fully detached duplex of identical structures situated at No. 17B Hakeem Odumosu Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos; an undeveloped parcel of land measuring 1,919.592 square metres, covered by Survey Plan No. DS/LS/340, situated at Oyinkan Abayomi Drive (formerly Queens Drive), Ikoyi, Lagos; and a bungalow situated at No. 65A Oyinkan Abayomi Drive (formerly Queens Drive), Ikoyi, Lagos;
Others are a four-bedroom duplex situated at 12A Probyn Road, Ikoyi, Lagos; an industrial complex under construction on 22 plots of land in Agbor, Delta State; eight units of undetached apartments on a plot measuring 2,457.60 square metres, situated at No. 8A Adekunle Lawal Road, Ikoyi, Lagos; and a full duplex together with all its appurtenances on a plot measuring 2,217.87 square metres, situated at 2A Bank Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Ebonyi State Police Command has insisted on conducting a post-mortem examination to determine the cause of death of Miss Mary Habila, a physiotherapist who died at the residence of the Minister of Works, Mr David Umahi, in Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
The demise of the deceased, which occurred in late June, recently became public and has sparked calls for a probe from many quarters.
Meanwhile, the family of the deceased has approached the court to stop the autopsy, but experts tell Business Post that the family has no authority to file an affidavit, as this is a case of suspected murder against the state and not the family.
Mr Umahi has also called for a probe.
The Ebonyi Police Command said the autopsy was necessary to establish the cause of death and support its ongoing investigation, despite objections from the deceased’s family.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Joshua Ukandu, disclosed this in a statement issued on Wednesday, stating that the police had commenced a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding Ms Habila’s death.
Mr Ukandu said preliminary investigations revealed that the deceased and a colleague were members of the medical team attached to the Minister of Works and had accompanied him to his hometown in Uburu, where she later died in a room within the compound of his residence.
According to him, detectives from the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) have visited the scene, documented relevant evidence and obtained statements from persons connected to the incident.
He added that the command had concluded arrangements to engage a qualified pathologist to carry out a post-mortem examination, which it considers crucial to determining the actual cause of death.
Mr Ukandu explained that the police became involved in the matter after receiving a distress call on June 27, 2026, from the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Ohaozara Division, informing the command of a medical emergency involving Habila and requesting his presence at the David Umahi Federal Teaching Hospital, Uburu.
“On arrival, the DPO was informed by hospital authorities that Miss Mary Habila had been brought in dead.
He immediately briefed the Commissioner of Police, who directed that the matter be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for thorough investigation,” the statement read.
The police spokesperson disclosed that while the family of the deceased had opposed the conduct of an autopsy, the command considered the procedure necessary in view of the circumstances surrounding the death.
“The Command therefore awaits the attendance of the family or their duly appointed representative, as their presence is essential to the conduct of the post-mortem examination,” Mr Ukandu said, assuring the public that the investigation would be conducted professionally, transparently and without bias, stressing that every necessary step would be taken to uncover the circumstances surrounding Habila’s death.
Mr Ukandu further assured that the command would continue to provide updates as the investigation progresses.
Family Seeks to Stop Autopsy
The family of the deceased, who is a staff member of the David Umahi Federal University of Medical Sciences and was seconded to the Federal Ministry of Works, formally requested the withdrawal of further investigation into her death and declined an autopsy.
In an affidavit titled Affidavit of Withdrawal of Case filed before the High Court of Justice of Ebonyi State, her father, Tanko Habila Wisdom, said the family was not alleging any foul play in her death and wished to proceed with her burial.
According to the affidavit, Mary Habila died on June 27, 2026, in Uburu, Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
The deponent stated that before her death, Habila was a staff member of the David Umahi Federal University of Medical Sciences and had been seconded to the Federal Ministry of Works in Mabushi, Abuja, where she served in the Office of the Minister of Works for about three years.
By Adedapo Adesanya
A Federal High Court in Apo, Abuja, has ordered the final forfeiture of billions of Naira worth of assets linked to businesswoman and socialite, Ms Aisha Achimugu, to the federal government.
Justice Jude Onwugbuzie granted the order following an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), directing the permanent forfeiture of jewellery valued at N4.645 billion, 11 exotic vehicles worth N4.293 billion, $50,000 and N30 million in cash.
The ruling followed the EFCC’s request for the final forfeiture of the assets, which the commission said were linked to Ms Achimugu.
The forfeited assets include: Jewellery valued at N4,645,170,294.90; 11 exotic vehicles worth N4,293,000,000; $50,000 in cash; and N30,000,000 in cash.
The court’s judgment vests ownership of the assets in the federal government, bringing the forfeiture proceedings to a close.
In March, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja affirmed the final forfeiture of $13 million linked to the Lagos socialite. However, in an interview in April, she denied that $13 million was discovered by the EFCC in her residence, describing the claim as inaccurate and misleading.
Justice Nwite had, on August 22, 2025, granted the anti-graft agency’s motion ex parte for an interim order forfeiting the sum of $13 million linked to Oceangate Ltd to the federal government over allegations that the fund was proceeds of unlawful activity.
The judge had then directed the commission to publish the order in a national daily for interested people to show cause within 14 days why the fund should not be permanently forfeited to the federal government.
In 2024, the businesswoman gained significant media attention for a seven-day birthday celebration in Grenada, which was attended by high-profile guests, reportedly including Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
The socialite also defended her widely publicised birthday celebration, noting that it had been “planned for 10 years” and was not funded with any money under investigation.
