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Babandede, WACT Shine at 2024 Comptroller General of Customs Award Ceremony

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Comptroller General of Customs Award Ceremony

By Bon Peters

It was a garland of honour for the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Area 11 Command and the West African Container Terminal (WACT), both in Onne, Rivers State as they were graciously rewarded at the just concluded 2024 Comptroller General of Customs Award Ceremony in Abuja over the weekend.

In a night to reward dedication, commitment, excellence, revenue generation, anti-smuggling war and trade facilitation, awards were bestowed on deserving individuals, terminal operators and other maritime stakeholders who distinguished themselves in various areas of their operations.

At the event, Onne Area 11 Command and WACT received several awards for their outstanding performances.

While the command was named the Best in Anti-smuggling Activities, WACT went home as the Best Terminal in Port Operations and Trade Facilitation.

Speaking on the development, the Customs Area Controller for the command, Comptroller Mohammed Babandede, attributed the success to the officers said men of the area.

“It’s a teamwork by all officers and men of the command. I couldn’t have done it alone if not for the role every officer and men in the Command played in ensuring public health and safety of lives,” he stated, thanking them for their contribution towards making the country safe.

Reacting on behalf of WACT, the General Manager for Government and Public Relations, Mr Innocent Ogbuji, said, “On behalf of the management and staff, we thank the NCS for the award.”

He assured that, “WACT will not rest on its oars to ensure seamless ports operations and trade facilitation in compliance with the fiscal policy of the federal government in line with international standards and best practices.”

“WACT is committed to seamless Port operations, robust synergies with stakeholders and enhancing trade facilitation,” he added.

WACT is a flagship for port operations and trade facilitation, whose investment stands at over $115 million. The terminal is equipped for effective and efficient port operations in the Eastern Maritime corridors of Nigeria.

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NDIC Seeks EFCC Enhanced Support on Asset Tracing, Recovery

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Alpha Merchant Bank NDIC

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has sought an enhanced collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in areas including asset tracing, recovery, and management.

This was hinged on a recent visit by the chief executive of the corporation, Mr Thompson Oludare Sunday, to the chairman of the anti-graft agency, Mr Ola Olukoyede.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr Sunday stressed that the visit offered an opportunity for formal engagement with the EFCC for further collaboration between the two organizations.

“We aim to further strengthen our collaboration, deepen institutional synergy and explore additional avenues for mutual support in the pursuit of national financial system stability. The EFCC has been our partner and we want this to continue. We look forward to an expanded and more impactful partnership between our two esteemed institutions,” Mr Sunday said.

Further in his request, he stated that the NDIC sought to leverage on the EFCC’s technical expertise in asset tracing, recovery and management, particularly in cases involving debtors of banks in liquidation.

“Your experience has and will continue to greatly enhance our recovery efforts. Additionally, we have that strategic responsibility for prosecuting individuals whose actions contribute to the failure of banks. We therefore seek closer collaboration with the Commission in this critical area.”

On his part, Mr Olukoyede, remarked that both agencies of government have a longstanding record of collaboration, pledged to amplify the working relationship.

He emphasized that the NDIC and EFCC are like inseparable twins, working together for years. He reminded the NDIC’s boss that the EFCC had been supporting his agency in the area of investigation, while the NDIC had been supporting the EFCC in the area of training.

“So, there has been this mutually beneficial relationship between NDIC and EFCC and we never intend to stop. We’ll continue to take it to a higher level, and continue to strengthen it,” he said.

Mr Olukoyede reiterated that his policy directive was to stimulate the Nigerian economy with the anti-graft war, leverage productive entities and enhance the capacities of other government agencies through needful interventions.

“One of the things I promised when I resumed was to use the instrumentality of this work to stimulate the economy, not just to make noise all over the place; to strengthen and encourage the internal processes of entities that are doing well and design fraud risk assessment for them. That was what necessitated my establishing a new department called Fraud Risk Assessment and Control.

“We don’t have to always wait for money to be stolen. Let us work with you and stakeholders in the economy to fine tune our system and make sure that we clean our financial ecosystem. You’re a key player in that area, and we are always willing to collaborate with you,” he added.

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Again, Nigeria’s Electricity Grid Collapses, Triggers Nationwide Blackout

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Electricity Subsidy Q1 2024

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria’s electricity grid collapsed again on Tuesday morning, cutting power supply nationwide after generation and load allocation dropped to zero across all distribution companies,.

The incident marks the second recorded collapse of the national power grid in 2026, the second as well in five days following last Friday’s inclident.

This also means the third time in one month after a similar failure on December 29, 2025.

The system failure occurred at about 10:50 a.m, when electricity allocation to all electricity distribution companies fell to zero. Data from the grid operator showed that power generation plunged to zero megawatts, triggering a total shutdown of supply across the country.

A review of the national distribution load profile at the time of the incident indicated that all distribution companies, including Abuja, Eko, Benin, Enugu, Ibadan, Ikeja, Jos, Kano, Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Yola, recorded zero load, confirming a nationwide outage.

All 23 power generation plants connected to the national grid reportedly lost output during the incident, resulting in zero power allocation to each of the 11 electricity distribution companies.

As of time of filing this report, no official confirmation has been provided by the government authorities.

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Military Confirms Attempt to Overthrow Tinubu, to Arraign Coup Plotters

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Tinubu address nation

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The Nigerian military on Monday, January 26, 2026, confirmed that some of its personnel actually attempted to overthrow the government of President Bola Tinubu in October 2025.

It was earlier speculated that the October 1 parade last year was abruptly cancelled due to an alleged attempt to remove Mr Tinubu from office by some members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN), with 16 persons arrested over the issue.

Providing an update on the matter today, the Director of Information for the Defence Headquarters in Abuja, Major General Samaila Uba, said investigations have “identified a number of the officers with allegations of plotting to overthrow the government” and would be “formally arraigned before appropriate military judicial panel to face trial.”

“It would be recalled that the  Defence Headquarters issued a press statement in October 2025 regarding the arrest of sixteen officers over acts of indiscipline and breaches of service regulations. The Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) wishes to inform the general public that investigations into the matter have been concluded and the report forwarded to appropriate superior authority in line with extant regulations.

“The comprehensive investigation process, conducted in accordance with established military procedures, has carefully examined all circumstances surrounding the conduct of the affected personnel. The findings have identified a number of the officers with allegations of plotting to overthrow the government which is inconsistent with the ethics, values and professional standards required of members of the AFN.

“Accordingly, those with cases to answer will be formally arraigned before appropriate military judicial panel to face trial in accordance with the Armed Forces Act and other applicable service regulations. This ensures accountability while upholding the principles of fairness and due process.

“The AFN reiterates that measures being taken are purely disciplinary and part of ongoing institutional mechanisms to preserve order, discipline and operational effectiveness within the ranks. The Armed Forces remain resolute in maintaining the highest standards of professionalism, loyalty and respect for constitutional authority,” the statement read.

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