General
Court Orders Our Daily Manna’s Chris Kwakpovwe to Pay Lawyer N9.5m
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Publisher of Christian motivational book, Our Daily Manna, Reverend Chris Kwakpovwe, has been directed by Justice SBA Candide Johnson of the Lagos State High Court to pay the sum of N9.5 million to a female lawyer, Ms Tamara Egbedi, for negligence.
In January 2010, Ms Egbedi attended a crusade organised by the cleric at the National Stadium in Lagos and sustained injuries during the programme.
It was gathered that the woman lost seven teeth after she fell into a drainage in between the seats at venue of the event.
Informing Rev Kwakpovwe at the end of the service, he handed her over to Mrs Matthew Daniels, a senior member of the church, who asked her to get estimate from a Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) Ikeja Dental Centre which she did, but rather than doing the needful, they chose to inform her in a letter that they were helping her out of charity.
Worried by how she was neglected, the lawyer, through her counsels, demanded compensation in a letter dated 3/3/2010 from the defendants, who insensitively responded in letter dated 26/3/2010 (EXHIBIT F) denying liability. This forced her to file a suit against the man of God.
Justice Johnson, while delivering the judgment in SUIT NO: LD/359/2011, held that from the evidence adduced by the parties, it is not in contention that Ms Tamara suffered injuries at the venue in the cause if attending the crusade.
“It is difficult not to observe that for the defendants who put themselves forward as spiritual shepherds of their sheep that they appear to have demonstrated scant care and concern for victims of their January 2010 spiritual crusade and have likewise by the letter of their lawyers (Exhibit F) daring this claimant to go to court, the defendants appear to have elected carnal warfare over spiritual warfare thus leaving it to the courts of law to intervene.
“It is virtually ridiculous for Rev Chris Kwakpovwe as the presiding Pastor, and a registered Trustee of Manna Miracle Mountain Ministry and the Publisher/Writer of ‘Our Daily Manna’ (ODM) to invite the general public and the claimant to a program which they expected to and which ‘recorded a huge attendance’ and then without any remorse or conscience, argue that they only rented space at the National Stadium so he and his religious ministry owed no duty of care or concern for the welfare and safety of the guests they had invited to their own spiritual “party” or event organized by them.
“It is this type of reckless impunity and conscientlessness that makes many people complain about callousness and wickedness in Nigeria,” the judge held.
“The National Sport Commission (NSC) rented the space to the defendants, who then structured, arranged and independently organized their event to their own taste and standards.
t is in my view, cowardly and irresponsible to invite a guest to your house or other venue for your independent event and then turn to blame a 3rd party for your own want of care and want of organizational due diligence,” the ruling said.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has explained why it initiated a move to freeze the bank account of the Osun State government.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Governor of Osun State, Mr Ademola Adeleke, claimed that the anti-money laundering agency asked one of its bankers, First Bank, not to release funds to the state government.
According to the Governor, this was part of the strategies to frustrate his administration ahead of the August 15, 2026, governorship election in the state.
Reacting to the issue on Wednesday night, the EFCC, in a statement, said it has been investigating the state government since March 2026 over an alleged “fraudulent handling of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) account to the tune of N11.0 billion.
The organisation noted that some officials of the state government, especially the Accountant General of the State, have had interview sessions with investigators of the EFCC.
“These ongoing investigations of the state government would not have warranted any placement of Post No Debit order on its account but for the precipitate and unwarranted movement of funds from the accounts to different suspicious accounts since August 2, 2026.
“The commission noticed huge transfers of funds into different corporate entities and had to swiftly halt the trend by freezing the accounts from which such heavy funds are being moved,” parts of the statement said.
In the disclosure, the agency noted that its preventive mandate is a public-inclined framework of safeguarding public funds, assets and resources, stressing that it cannot “watch idly while a state government’s account is being pillaged.”
“While the commission is fully aware of the impending governorship election in Osun State, it has a responsibility to act in defence of the sanctity of the funds of the state. It will be uncharitable for the commission to allow an excuse of an upcoming election to fold its arms to perform its legally-assigned functions,” it pointed out.
The EFCC disclosed that it is “keeping watch over the finances of other states like Osun State. Many of these states are on the investigative radar of the commission to ensure accountability and probity. The commission has always pointed out that it is non-partisan and non-sectarian but always working in the overall interests of Nigerians. The Osun State government account was frozen to save public funds from being looted.”
The organisation urged the public “to ignore false narratives and deliberate demonisation of the works of the EFCC. The interests of all Nigerians are greater and will always be protected by the commission.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has launched a mobile application designed to monitor fuel consumption patterns in real time across retail outlets nationwide.
The NMDPRA, established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, is responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum operations. The deployment of the mobile application aligns with the authority’s broader efforts to leverage technology to improve regulatory compliance and strengthen accountability.
The pilot phase of the project began on August 1 in Abuja and its six Area Councils, the authority said in a statement published on X.
As part of the rollout, the Executive Director for Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure (DSSRI), Mr Ogbugo Ukoha, led a team alongside officials from the Abuja Regional Office to assess the readiness and operational performance of the digital platform at participating retail outlets.
According to the NMDPRA, the application captures inventory and compliance data in real time, enabling regulators to monitor fuel distribution more effectively while improving operational efficiency across the sector.
The authority said the platform would generate reliable, data-driven insights to support evidence-based decision-making, strengthen national energy security planning and enhance transparency in the downstream petroleum industry.
It added that the initiative is expected to provide significant value to government, investors, operators and other stakeholders by improving access to accurate fuel consumption and compliance data.
Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector has undergone significant changes since the deregulation of the petrol market and the removal of fuel subsidies, with regulators placing greater emphasis on data-driven supervision to ensure product availability, prevent supply disruptions and discourage sharp regional disparities in distribution.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
No doubt, moving money among African markets remains a slow, fragmented process that relies on multiple intermediaries and prolonged settlement cycles.
To solve this issue and drive the development of stablecoin-enabled payment services for businesses across the continent, Onafriq has joined forces with a leading stablecoin infrastructure provider, Privy.
The collaboration will enable Onafriq to create and manage embedded digital asset solutions for its partners and, in time, institutional clients where regulation allows. The initial phase focuses on cross-chain stablecoin transfers and treasury and settlement workflows, creating the foundation for future cross-border payment and liquidity solutions.
Integrating Privy’s secure infrastructure enables Onafriq to build the capabilities required to support a new generation of efficient digital payment services for banks, fintechs, and mobile money operators.
This partnership is a key component of Onafriq’s broader strategy to modernise pan-African payment infrastructure, enabling secure multi-modal wallets and more efficient movement of value across the continent.
The outcome will support a range of future institutional use cases, including stablecoin-enabled settlement, treasury management and liquidity services, as it reflects Onafriq’s commitment to driving Africa’s digital transformation agenda by investing in technologies that make financial services more efficient, connected and accessible.
It was gathered that Onafriq selected Privy for its enterprise-grade infrastructure to enable the seamless integration of digital asset wallet capabilities into its products, subject to regulatory approval, and deliver a simple user experience while abstracting the complexity of blockchain technology.
“At Onafriq, we keep investing in technology that makes payments faster and more accessible. Privy gives us a building block for faster settlement and better liquidity management. As demand for digital asset services grows, our goal is to ensure Africa’s payment ecosystem benefits securely and in line with regulatory frameworks,” the Group Chief Product and Innovation Officer at Onafriq,” Mr Luke Kyohere, said.
The chief executive of Privy, Mr Henri Stern, said, “Stablecoins will play an increasingly important role in the future of global payments, but real-world adoption depends on infrastructure that is secure, scalable and simple to implement. Working with Onafriq allows us to help build that foundation across Africa and beyond.”
